Tom Beaulieu

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that this committee defer further consideration on the main estimates of NWT Housing Corporation at this time.

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are a handful of trappers who continue to live off the land and a couple of outfitters who are still able to operate, but now, Mr. Speaker, one outfitter at the mouth of the Taltson River may be wiped out. He has built his business over years and employs at least six people each summer.

Mr. Speaker, at this point the NWT Power Corporation has refused to take responsibility for this problem. The Minister indicates the dam is too far away to have caused the problem.

This claim is not consistent with the traditional knowledge of the river and area. Ever...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, that does clarify this, but I am going to just repeat it again. So we have got a $100,000 house, it gets 48 per cent off, so it is down to $52,000. The $25,000 incentive is added, and the individual has to go to the bank for the other $27,000 if the 52 per cent that is remaining in the cost of the public housing unit is more than $25,000. If it is less, then it is okay; if it is more, then the option is available for the individual to pay cash, like going to the bank, paying cash because he has got the cash. Or am I still hearing that rent-to-purchase is still...

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, in 2012, the GNWT laid the groundwork for its anti-poverty plan. One press release described it as our "tattered social safety net." It was three more years before we got an action plan called, Working Together.

Now five years have passed. Forget the tattered social safety net; we are in fiscal restraint these days. Yet Northerners living in poverty still have not seen enduring improvements.

It is not for a lack of trying, but for the lack of coordination and new investment. NGOs, community groups, and public servants work...

Mr. Chairman, I move that the Chair rise and report progress.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that committee defer further consideration.

No, Mr. Chair, I do not mind the position the government takes. What I am saying is that this should be something that stands alone. Our requests for the additional $700,000 into this budget as a request into this budget, it is not a request that you can then put under another department. We have our own issues with the other departments, and our request going to other departments. We keep them separate. We keep these issues separate. We are not having discussions with the Minister of Finance in saying, well, if you can combine this, or if you add over here, you can take away from here. All...

We on this side of the House have plans for how difficult it is going to be even to access a Small Community Employment Program under its current rules. We are trying to talk to the government about changing some of the rules so that we can access that program as an employment program, not something where we have made a request somewhere, and if we do not get that request, we are going to take that money and place it in there. This is a separate request.

I think the Minister should keep those requests separately. If this Minister is then going to say, well, this would be a good way for the...

Marci, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, there are two things I want to touch on. I know the Member from Yellowknife North touched on it, but just to add a bit to what he said.

The first one is on the Community Access Roads Program. The Community Access Roads Program is a program that is in place as a program that Regular Members are trying to get government to add money into. I believe that this money that is spent in the communities is very beneficial to the communities and has an element of people who could be doing labour work. It has people who could do slashing, chainsaw work and also people who...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement I talked about all 14 departments working together. How does the GNWT's vision for reducing and eliminating poverty in the NWT include a plan for eliminating silos between the departments? Thank you.