Wendy Bisaro

Thanks to the Minister for her comments. I appreciate, I think, Standing Committee on Social Programs will certainly take advantage of the Minister’s comment that we can go for public input. I imagine there will be certainly some of that.

The Minister mentioned the 2007 policy, which has now been rescinded. It kind of leads into my question. I guess two things: I don’t think we need a policy to extend coverage to people who are not covered, but in the absence of a Supplementary Health Benefits Policy -- which I presume we now have -- what will govern extended health benefits, Metis health...

I guess I heard the Minister say that we will do that. Is there a timeline on this? I’ve heard this for quite a while. I would have thought that if the Housing Corporation was going to do it, it would have been something they would have considered and have started already. When might we be able to see these contracts split into two parts?

Just one last question, I guess. Part of my riding includes Sissons Court, which has quite a number of public housing units. I wonder if the Minister could advise the status of those units in terms of their repair or lack of repair, basically an evaluation of their need for how good are they. Do they need repairs? When are they likely to be renovated and retrofitted?

I appreciate the information. I would like to know, if I could, where in the city these two projects will be located.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also will be voting in favour of this motion and I have heard Members mention this idea many times in committee and the House, or in any number of meetings. I feel, like the maximum rental rate policy, this particular policy is also debilitating and it also is a policy which does not enable our residents. We want our residents to be confident, we want them to lead productive lives. We want them to contribute to our communities, but this policy doesn’t help them do that. Our residents can’t do that if the effect of housing guidelines such as this one is to keep our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I certainly look forward to seeing that Shelter Policy. If it is going to include the detail to which the Minister is referring, then it will be a valuable document and it will hopefully remove many of the roadblocks that our residents are encountering in regards to their housing.

I would like to ask the Minister if he can tell me when that Shelter Policy in all its detail will be available. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister. The Minister mentions the Shelter Policy that’s being developed. I also mentioned in my statement that there were two commitments from the Minister in the last eight months or so. One was to look at rent scales and one was to look at programs. I don’t hear in the answer today, and I didn’t hear in the answers from previous Hansard, that the Housing Corporation is going to look at everything with the Housing Corporation, polices, procedures, guidelines, everything that affects how housing is given out, how it is managed and administered. Could I get from the Minister...

It’s my pleasure today to recognize Mr. Jim White, who is representing the Yellowknife Housing Authority. We all have housing in our Yellowknife ridings, so I know he works on our behalf. I’d like to thank him for that.

Following up on your welcome of Mr. Whitford, I’d like to say it’s good to see you here again.

I lied. I said I had one last question but I do have another one.

Quite often I’ve heard Members talking about the practice of putting out a tender for housing units and it’s put out as supply, ship and erect. I gather that has quite an impact on smaller communities in that businesses within the smaller community cannot do that whole contract of supply, ship and erect. So has the Housing Corporation changed their policy of tendering housing projects so that they could be split into possibly supply and ship and then a second contract for just the erection of the units?

And the other project, where is it located?