David Krutko

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...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have seriously thought this through in regards to the type of construction we are going to use. We are looking at multi-dwelling facilities, getting away from the stick-built single housing construction, because we are looking at the energy efficiency of these units versus the old units, but also looking at new building methods and materials that we use, which will basically give you better R value. We’re able to heat the homes at less costs, but also ensuring that we do allow homes to be built for senior people with disabilities and also try to meet...

Mr. Speaker, at the present time, no, there is no such program in existence.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in conjunction with ECE and ourselves in regards to how we are laying out the whole idea of the household subsidy and also looking at the whole rental scale systems that we use, I think we are looking at arrangements that have been done in Nunavut, other places in the country, and also realizing that we are similar in nature to other jurisdictions. Seeing what’s happening in those other jurisdictions and ensuring that we have a system that is either consistent with other jurisdictions, but it’s fair to our tenants and the residents in the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are looking at the whole area of who do we calculate rent from gross income versus another system that we use looking at the…I think it’s important that whatever we do we are going to have to…Any rent that we change we have to ensure that we follow the tenants act that is in place by notifying our clients that there is going to be a change, and also whatever we do here has to conform with how we are able to not only look at the policies that we have within the government, but also ensuring that we have a system that’s working in conjunction with other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department is looking at the rental rate review in which we are hoping to have something come forward in conjunction with what’s happening with the transfer of the social housing subsidy and also realizing that we do have to be open, transparent and fair to all our clients across the territory. So we are looking at it in conjunction of a universal review of the whole program throughout the territory. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do have a program that we have joint ventures, of partnerships, through the residual heat concept. Again, it's all based on the costs and it is burdened by the community by way of the way that we bill our communities. It's based on the actual cost to produce that power, but it's also charged on the number of residents in those communities. But we are looking at communities and looking at new initiatives such as residual heat, but also through the new technologies that are out there we are looking at that and we are open to the possibility of seeing...

Mr. Speaker, as we know, a majority of the houses were constructed under federal aboriginal housing or, basically, federal housing programs in the past. The criteria for those housing dollars are that we do receive a subsidy for housing by way of $30 million. The $30 million are for the 2,300 units that we have in place to pay for the O and M costs of those units. So the Member is correct; those units are presently being funded under the federal social housing subsidy that we presently received. But I think the Members also have to realize that the subsidy is now presently declining. In...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, like I said earlier, we are having some land approval issues, especially where areas of unsettled claims are. There are presently lease-only policies in place, and there's also the question about having the capacity to build. We do have a number of public housing units that are boarded up. Because of the cost it's going to take to renovate or replace these units, we are better off building new units, acquiring the land that they're on so that we are able to deliver the 530 units that we are going to build in those communities and take advantage of...