David Krutko

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as all the Members know, we are moving towards centralizing our social funding to one institution, which is the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, where we’ve basically allocated $30 million from the housing program in regards to subsidies that we provide and through the arrangement of centralizing the funds that are provided to people in the Northwest Territories for programs and subsidy programs from home grants in regards to subsidies for our housing stock for social housing and also in regards to programs that we have from fuel subsidies...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have been in discussions with the Hay River Seniors' Society and also with CMHC who is also providing funding to this program. We are in the process of putting out a request for proposals for construction of units in Hay River, working in conjunction with the Seniors' Society, CMHC and ourselves. So we're presently in the process of preparing a request for proposal on that project.

Mr. Speaker, as I stated in my opening remarks, this program has been there for 10 years. The government-of-the-day made a political decision to allow seniors in social housing not to pay rent. The decision was made and with this government they have made a decision to look at a social income review of all social programs, centralized it in one area and look at exactly the fairness of our programs and services. Right now that review is taking place, they will be looking at these issues to ensure that we have a fair process for all people within our social housing stock to people within the...

Mr. Speaker, we are presently at the process of developing the request for proposal and when I have that, I will give it to the Member, inform the Member from Hay River exactly where we’re at with this, and also make sure you’re fully briefed on exactly where this project is going and also how we’re proceeding forward. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, this policy has been in effect for 10 years. It was put in place during the 13th Assembly to allow seniors to live in public housing and not pay rent. The policy has been there and we are simply following the policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we are hoping that at some point in time it will be owned and managed by the Seniors' Society in Hay River, but, again, we are working in conjunction with the Housing Corporation and the Seniors' Society to basically work out the arrangement of exactly who will take ownership of this facility once we basically have made a decision on what type of facility we’re looking at. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, again, Mr. Speaker, we have not made a decision to basically have seniors in public housing pay rent at this time. But the reason I’m saying at this time is because presently we are doing a review in regards to the income security review that’s going on in the programs we have in the Northwest Territories. Right now there’s about $100 million that’s being given out by way of some subsidy or another. Again, right now those dollars are being allocated to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment in which we’re going to ensure that we have a system in place that is fair to...

Mr. Speaker, we are in the process of having three agencies putting money into this facility. We have basically CMHC, ourselves, and also the Seniors’ Society in Hay River. They are also going to be contributing to this project. So with the three organizations that are going to be contributing, at the end of the day we have to determine exactly how much investment would each group make, and also when those investments will either be written off over a period of time or basically that we'll be able to hand that asset over to an agency or organization in Hay River. It’s either going to be the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the seniors and public housing initiative will continue on at the present time. It’s a policy of the government. Again, the policy clearly states that people who live in public housing will not have to pay rent. There is another process that is going on with regard to reviewing the income security review. That now falls within the domain of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. We have decided to centralize our social funding responsibilities and try to ensure that it is a fair distribution of money. Right now the policy is there and the...

Yes, Mr. Speaker. We are in the process of having to do a major retrofit of that facility within the next couple years. Because of that, we will have to basically relocate those residents and also ensure that we have enough housing facilities for seniors in Hay River going forward. Thank you.