David Krutko

Mr. Speaker, we are aware that this is an issue with regard to Behchoko by way of how their rents were collected. It was managed and administered by a community organization. We had to take this back a number of years ago. I think there is a system in place where we do have the ability to backtrack the accounts as they are on our records. But they were under a different management agreement a number of years ago, in which we realized we do have some problems with that. Again, Mr. Speaker, the principle through that local housing authority is that they do have to ensure that they do work with...

That was an issue we raised during the last time this court case went forward and it was raised in the context that small communities will become minorities in this Legislature and they will be losing the voice we had prior to division. It has lost the texture of exactly what this territory is supposed to be. The Northwest Territories has been known for its kindness and commitment to all people who come north. Yet the focus of governments and institutions seems to be focussing on the industries and the tourists that come from the South, but not really taking care of the people who really...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I wasn’t going to really speak on this because I went through this in the 13th Assembly. I will tell you back then is exactly what we see today happening with our rural and remote communities with programs and services, the have and have-not communities. It’s exactly what we were afraid was going to happen when they had the court case.

I don’t think you can say there is a difference between the larger centres and small communities. The little things the large centres take for granted like being able to get access to medical care, policing services, basic infrastructure...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have put a call out to the tenants of the authority in Behchoko to come forward and show us exactly how the rents were calculated, give us the information that they have so that we can assess it and try to find a solution on exactly how we came up with that number. I know a number of years ago, one of my predecessors looked at the possibility of working out an arrangement with Behchoko because of this particular problem. It is a problem. We are trying to work with the Member and the community to find a solution to the problem. Again, we cannot set a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the objective we set for our local authorities is that they do have to collect in the range of 90 percent of the revenues from rents that are charged to the tenants. We also have the Rent Supp Program, which offers those tenants a subsidy on the amount of rent that is being paid either through a subsidy, do an evaluation of the tenant to determine how much they are supposed to pay. As the Member states, these go back for some time. In order for someone to end up with $76,000 in arrears, they have to either have a high, high income or haven’t paid their...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do look in regards to the type of housing that the community would like. We also look at our statistics of where the needs are. There’s the family dwellings, one bungalow or two-bedroom, three-bedroom or four-bedroom. What we’re finding in a lot of communities is that people are asking for three or four-bedroom units because there are no units for families with more than three or four kids. I think we have to realize that we have to sit down with communities and see exactly which type of housing they need in the communities, but also look at our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do use existing contracting guidelines. We follow the BIP process. We also follow the manufacturing directive that is in place for purchasing. I mentioned in my statement that we are working with communities to build capacity. The one thing I have been doing is trying to formulate that if they have capacity or need assistance to build capacity, through the contracting process we have, we have negotiated contracts in place, we have sole source contracts, we have means that people can build that capacity and I think it’s working with communities...

Mr. Speaker, the programs we have today are needs tested. They don't allow all residents to have access to our programs, and I think that's why we are looking at changing that. We are developing energy plans and whatnot that we're putting in place. But more importantly, we realize we do have to change the programs and services we do deliver, working with other departments to look at this by way of looking at the energy we use but, more importantly, by consolidating, changing the criteria we have in our program. So we are looking at that by the way of the consolidation of programs. Thank...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd just like to thank the Member for her question, because I think it's important that we do look at new initiatives and make sure we're able to assist residents to bring down the cost of operating and maintaining a home, but I think it's important we change the method. I think one of the best programs I've seen today, especially where people depend on the Fuel Subsidy Program, we have a program where we assist seniors by putting monitor heaters in their homes as a secondary heat source, which they're able to sustain the fuel that they do get through the subsidy...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the program is broken down into two areas. We are looking at replacing about 50 percent of those units with the public housing stock we have. But also we are looking at a homeownership component, which is the Supported Lease Program, which is for eligible clients in those communities to get to be homeowners. But again it's application-based for those families in those communities that would like to get into homeownership. Again, it’s for those people that we feel can sustain themselves in that type of a housing setting. Again, it is through an...