David Krutko

Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to go back to item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, as I stated, this program has assisted 570 people in which we were able to leverage $42 million through bank financing to assist us with these 570 people. Yes, the goal of the program is to get people into home ownership and give people independence so that they are not stuck in social housing. In a lot of communities 90 percent of our houses are social housing facilities. We have to get them into a home ownership program. One of the programs we have is EDAP. The other program is the Independent Housing Program. We have programs designed to...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, as we all know, the program is based on the amount of money that we do have in the pot and the number of applications you have received. On that basis, it depends on the amount of applications. Yes, we have turned people down time and again. That’s why people continue to go back year after year to reapply on these programs, because there is only so much money in the pot. If the Member would like to ensure that they increase the budget next year for this program so we can assist more people, I think that is the way we can solve this problem. Thank...

Madam Chair, like I stated…Sorry, Madam Speaker. Like I stated, there is a budget that we do operate out of. In last year’s budget, we allocated almost $2.2 million and out of that we approved 42 applications. The program is universal right across the Northwest Territories, not only in Yellowknife. We have allocated $1 million this year for the city of Yellowknife for this program. It’s based on the number of applications you get and the amount of money in the budget. So you approve the budget through this process and you can help only so many people with the resources you have. So on that...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to have two Pages here from my riding. It’s the first time I have had the opportunity to bring them down from my riding. It’s a real opportunity for them to learn how the consensus government works and see how we operate here in the House. I would like to recognize Kayla Arey from Moose Kerr School in Aklavik…

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…and Jennifer Greenland from Chief Julius School in Fort McPherson. Thank you.

Yes, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, as we know, this program, the Expanded Downpayment Assistance Program, is to assist people wishing to get into their own homes through home ownership because they are paying well in excess of 25 or almost 30 percent of their income, which could be better served by getting into home ownership. This is not only for people in the high income bracket, this is also there to assist people and get them out of social housing and get them into home ownership, but only where their income shows that they able to pay to maintain a home, and also be able to ensure...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Yes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, it’s based on household income and the size of the family. If you have a family with six people or seven people, it’s based on the ability of that family to maintain themselves, but also maintain a mortgage. So there are also things that are looked at with regard to how you determine the evaluation. Also, regarding the income support system, it again is based on where these units are being put in place. A lot of communities, where you’re putting $300,000 into a community, your threshold numbers are somewhere in the range of $50,000 or $60,000. In...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it may seem that the numbers are screwy with regard to how you look at it, but I think the Member has to realize that this program is developed throughout the whole Northwest Territories. We have communities who have just as much need for assistance as they do here in Yellowknife. You also have to realize that this program is not only for high income clients. It’s also there to assist people who are trying to move from income support, clients who are in social housing, to get them out of social housing and into home ownership. There is no set guideline in...