David Krutko

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do have various programs at their disposal for people to apply. One of them is emergency repair programs. It falls within that category. We will be able to assist. We have done an in-depth report on the mould problem in Fort Liard, so we are in the process of dealing with that, starting off with the Kotaneelee housing. But there are programs available to residents of Fort Liard to apply, especially the emergency repair funding. With is there. By that process, they can access that through that program. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have identified dollars in the upcoming budget to deal with emergency cases, such as Fort Liard mould and other situations, to make improvements to bring our houses up to the standard that is liveable. There are dollars allocated in the budget in which we will be reviewing next week. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to recognize a constituent of mine, Mr. Donnie Roberts, who is also a regional vice-president of the UNW in Fort McPherson. I would like to welcome you, Donnie.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Lafferty on October 25, 2005, regarding the rent scale used by the NWT Housing Corporation for public housing.

Specifically, Mr. Lafferty asked how the rent scale is determined.

The rental amount is derived from a household's monthly income. This is the same in all communities. The cost of living and unit condition reductions are then subtracted from this. The cost of living reduction is a variable number and is dependent on the community and the number of people in the household.

The rent scale embodies the principle that residents of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have met with people in the private sector; I've toured different plants in the territory; and I've talked to a lot of people in the private sector about coming forward with a proposal that's a good business case and has financially sound information in it, so that we can proceed on pilot projects. I have not received anything from any of these companies to date, yet they're asking for $3 million to make an investment from this government, with no documentation to back that up. So unless we get that documentation, we will continue to talk with other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I will commit to look at my schedule, and see how we can fit in one or two days in November. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do believe that Hay River does have a lot to offer with regard to this project, regarding lands and also being the transportation link for the North through barging. The key transportation of these structures will be by barge that will go up the Mackenzie River and drop these facilities in different locations up and down the valley. So the crucial components are ensuring there is land availability, and having the workforce and the transportation link to ensure we are able to access the barges required to transfer these infrastructures. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we have staff in our department who deal with the business community in regard to proposals, tenders and whatnot. Right now, we are talking to the individual about the project that we're doing in Norman Wells, with the Metis local in Norman Wells, through the development corporation, and the company she's talking about is part of that proposal. Our people have been talking to them regarding that proposal. So it's not that we haven't been talking to them. If anything, we've been talking with them in the last two weeks, making sure that that proposal is sound and going forward...

Mr. Speaker, just to clear up the Member's issue regarding the $20 million, we have made no investment in this project. The only time there will be a financial investment will be at the end of the pipeline project, when we will consider looking at acquiring these facilities. So there is no investment by way of dollars switching hands here. It is not going to happen for the next five years.

Right now, it's basically a concept that's being put forward, which is unique in regard to the possibility of having a way of solving our housing crises up and down the valley. I think, in order to do...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, I will commit to that. I think it’s important that we do move on this very quickly. With the announcement of the pipeline, there will be a decision made on who will get the contract to build workforce camps for this project that will be purchased through the Mackenzie pipeline project itself. So they will have to make that decision. I am committed to that, but we do have to move on this.