David Krutko
Statements in Debates
I better put on my rose coloured glasses. My question is in regard to LHOs. I know the community of Tsiigehtchic did raise this question with the Minister that they had an LHO in the community of Tsiigehtchic but they don’t have it anymore. I noted, looking through your information, you have units in some 26 communities but you only have 23 LHOs. I’d just like to ask when can we expect to see an LHO in the community of Tsiigehtchic where they had a local housing authority previous and they don’t have that anymore. I’d just like to know when we can see that local housing authority being...
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With regard to the additional funding of $1.140 million for mobile utility costs, I’m wondering exactly how much that dollar has been allocated. Is it in all communities? It’s a grant program. You mentioned eligible community governments. Who are the eligible community governments? Is it all community governments or only tax-based community governments?
Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my remarks and I apologize.
Can the Minister or the deputy tell us which communities are those?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just thought you were going to...
---Interjection
I’d just like to ask the Minister why is it that all the positions are at headquarters. Shouldn’t they be closer to the communities if that’s who we’re servicing is the community operations? Why haven’t we looked at the possibility of devolving these positions closer to the communities they serve?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are directed to the Minister of Finance. I’d like to ask the Minister of Finance if there can be a financial audit done in regard to the capital housing allocations in the Inuvik region and exactly why those allocations are not being spent in the communities they’re earmarked for and they’re benefitting the community of Inuvik by way of all the contractors receiving all the contracts. Could you check into that and see if there is a possibility of investigation to how those dollars are being let?
Mr. Chair, as we all heard from the federal government, I thought there was a deadline. I think it’s August 31st, or whatever. It’s a federal deadline and realistically these are federal dollars. Is there a guarantee that we can carry over? Because I know some of my communities still have not been able to deal with their solid waste sites because of the location outside the community or because the way the contracting requirements are under the program in which the costs came in well over the budget that they’re working from. The same thing applies to water treatment plants and whatnot, that...
In the past one of the ideas was to start selling off some of the government housing units regardless if they were surplus housing or they were considered that come to in the life retrofits, it basically might be cheaper to just dispose of those units than trying to put any more money into them. I think we have to realize we have less money and we need to find ways to bring in new revenues or quit throwing good money after bad, knowing that we have to dispose of those assets, get rid of them, get them off our books, and take the O and M money or maintenance money and reinvest it into new...
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, it’s an application-based program and certainly Fort Simpson and Fort McPherson have been responding to accidents on the highway. They’ve had situations where people have died on the highway and they’ve had to go up and respond to that. I think that from the experience of those responses that the community has gone to, that we would have to ensure that they’re not equipped but also allow them the training they require to do those types of responses. In some cases they’re pretty gory and I don’t think anybody wants to come upon an accident and realize that there...