Tom Beaulieu

I agree with the Minister. I realize that the maximum amount set in the rent scale is 19.4 percent, not 30 percent. The reason it is there is because they are public housing tenants. They have low incomes. They have to be below a certain income threshold in order to be in public housing. I am asking the Minister again to look at the power subsidy portion, which is that subsidy I referred to where everyone is brought to the Yellowknife rate up to a certain amount, if the Minister would look at making the adjustments based on that number. I think that would be the more appropriate way that would...

Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of Housing. Mr. Speaker, there were some questions on the power rates that were eventually increased to where, I believe, that the tenants in public housing are paying their own power. At one point, it used to be a payment of a small amount per kilowatt hour, and then it continued to grow until they are paying everything. One of our mandates is to lower the cost of living. I would like to ask the Minister: the benches that are set for rent, it depends on your income; you pay a certain bench. If the power that the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I'm sure the community will be pleased to hear of that review. I have no further questions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, we have lots of needs in Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Mr. Chairman, I'd like to ask the Minister about community learning centres. Currently, we have a new community learning centre in Lutselk’e. That was very good for the community. It was used as a good back-up classroom for when they were renovating the school. So I think the community is pleased with that.

The two other communities that have community learning centres are in very old buildings. The one in Ndilo, and I think I'll speak on the two separately or ask questions separately, Mr. Chair. I'd like to ask...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, now, to be more specific, I'd like to ask the Minister: I'm aware that the Minister and the department are discussing private partners with the YK Dene band and the expansion of the Ndilo school or the Kalemi Dene School for a gymnasium and a couple of classrooms, I believe; a lab and a classroom, I believe. I'd like to ask the Minister if I could get some sort of indication on how those discussions are going and how far into the future is she expecting that project to begin? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I'm looking forward to replacement of the Kaw Tay Whee school, in Detah, and looking at all of the renovations, new schools, upgrades across the territory. I want to ask the Minister a question on the capital standards for NWT schools. Capital standards for NWT schools were put out, well, these standards are from 2005. I'm wondering, with all of the new education renewal and what not, if the department is considering a revision to the capital standards for NWT schools? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, on the same page, something that isn't there, I know I have had discussions with the Minister on the health centre in Lutselk'e. I know that there are basically four health centres that are close to reaching the end of their useful lives, and two of them have already been replaced. That is Providence and Fort Resolution, and I know it is in the books to replace Tulita.

Lutselk'e, I believe, is next in line for a replacement. I know that they were looking at that as a renovation, but the Minister himself and I have talked and looking at a replacement, but I...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, over the last few months, I have been talking about the Stanton building and, not the Stanton building, I guess, but the old Stanton Hospital. I have been asking for the possibility of having a nursing school, homecare, and so on, to training homecare people, all the various positions that are needed to do homecare. I'm wondering if there's any thought at all in the department to consider Stanton Hospital as a school for nurses. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for that. That is very good. I guess one more thing on that is that I am asking the Minister to do that adjustment so that individuals who are hitting a certain income threshold and then they are maxing out at a certain percentage do not start to exceed that once they start paying their own power. I don’t know if that is more of a comment, I suppose. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to ask the Minister if he would consider making that adjustment for the bottom and, like, the power subsidy program, where, in the wintertime, everybody is subsidized at the Yellowknife rate, up to $1,000, and, in the summertime, everybody is adjusted to the Yellowknife rate, up to $600. I would like to ask the Minister if that portion of the power bill could make an adjustment to the actual benches of the rent.