Tom Beaulieu

Mr. Speaker, they are aware that the environment affects climate and it even affects discussions as far as future land claims and so on. Mr. Speaker, there is a complex environmental assessment process. There is a real need to have a good supply of environmental monitors, and what better candidates are there than those who live in Lutselk’e and Fort Resolution. Later today, I will have questions for the Minister of ENR. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was not going to speak to the motion. The motion is fairly self-explanatory but just a couple of small points to make. The main issue seems to be that the Housing Corporation is able to build homes faster than they are able to find clients. So what’s happening is a lot of the clientele is unable to access the homes as the current income situation stands, core need income thresholds, I should say. With the income thresholds, they are either too low on one hand or too high at the other hand. Let me see, right; too high at the bottom end and too low at the upper end...

Mr. Chairman, I have a motion.

For the record, I feel the best strategy is to fix the public housing units and give them away in non-market communities and sell them in market communities, by the way. I think that is a good thing. But the best solution, of course, is to get the federal government to remain in the process of continuing to fund social housing. Just a comment. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would just make a comment, not to the Minister of Housing but probably to the Minister of Human Resources. If this continues to be an issue, offer this benefit to people provided they are prepared to go into non-market communities. I could never understand how this was an issue. If it is considered a subsidy by people in non-market communities, or anywhere for that matter, then offer that to them provided they are prepared to work in a non-market community where this type of subsidy viewed as a subsidy is being offered. Thank you. That is just a comment.

On the housing for staff, I guess I should just talk about my scenario. In both communities they have capable contractors or capable contractors can be brought into the community to build housing for staff. Would this budget be available for not only leveraging or financing, but also for providing equity to individuals? The problem with building staff housing is that your capital carrying costs are so high in non-market communities that is not feasible unless the staff is prepared to pay a large amount of rent per month. Usually these are rented to teachers who only need to rent 10 months of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just quickly. I will be supporting the motion. I think that if the laptops could make work easier for some of the Members in the House, doing Member’s statements on the laptop or whatever; it is to do some work in here as they wish to do. I have no problem with that. I am not sure that it would be disruptive. It may. I support it because it is for this session only. I think that if, like I said, it can make people’s work easier, than I am in favour of that. Thank you.

I’d like to thank the Minister for that response. I recognize that we’re just going through the budget process now; however, I’m interested in seeing if the Minister can commit to adding more money that’s targeted directly to the communities in the area of environmental monitoring.

Mr. Speaker, today in my Member’s statement I spoke of the need to have environmental monitoring in the Tu Nedhe area around Lutselk’e and Fort Resolution. I have questions for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. I would like to ask him if he could tell me if ENR has allocated any money in the area of environmental monitoring that could be transferred directly to the communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, I don’t have a whole lot to add to it. I think the majority of what had to be said here has been said. I think this will also help the government, because allowing more people into homeownership does create a bit of a market. A better private market we have in all of our communities, the better off we all are.

As people know in the Housing Corporation, communities with markets have much lower needs, on a percentage basis, than non-market communities. Some of the communities where there is absolutely no market, the needs are very high to extremely high. If this...