Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll have questions for the Minister of the NWT Power Corporation.

My question for the Minister is: Can the Minister of the NWT Power Corp inform this House which of our 33 communities the NWT Power Corp does not service as the distribution agent and explain why that is not the case? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Has the Minister come to the Legislature to ask for additional money to repair those eight units to ensure we would increase the housing stock in that community with more than 10 percent by adding those…for those 12 individuals or families waiting to get housing?

I believe in Yellowknife they were talking about expending dollars so they could expand programs through housing to stabilize rents, to stabilize affordability. Has there been a cost-benefit analysis to make the determination that it’s cheaper to sell the unit in case someone else wants to rent them or own the unit, which we own already, and fix it up and work through our housing program for housing for people in need? Thank you.

So if we have 12 on the list, it would be safe to say that if we open up that particular unit once again, we would take off two-thirds of the waiting list. Is that correct?

Mr. Chairman, I will be pleased to accept that. The Minister has already mentioned 36 market rental units and he said that’s adding to the 100 market rentals in the smaller communities, which is good. I assume with the 36, would the Minister be able to provide the detail as to where those 100 market rentals are in the smaller communities? Thank you.

When the Minister says 40 replacements, we’re doing one for one. When he says the Housing Corp is doing 36 market, is that new, new, in the sense of new in a net context? If he could provide that detail.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s certainly well within the authority and the powers that the Minister can direct the department to start evaluating this rather than maybe pushing it off to a new Assembly and to sometimes get the decision by committee by saying, well, we’ll wait for committee to provide direction could take quite a bit of time. In short, the Minister is well within his ability to say this is something we could review and perhaps provide some input back to committee, and that’s what I’m looking for.

Northerners need an opportunity to help heat their houses more efficiently. This can...

I think most of us can agree here that with the operation of a house, a lot of money is devoted to heating it. Heat loss is a major contributor to poor energy efficiency if a house isn’t well insulated, the doors aren’t good and the windows don’t withstand the needs for cold weather here.

Is there a reason why doors, windows and exterior insulation aren’t part of the energy efficiency rebate program, which could go a long way to help Northerners heat their houses in a more efficient way? We spend a lot of time worrying about wood stoves, boilers, furnaces, toilets and lightbulbs, but these...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the great things about getting older is I realize how enriched my life is by knowing so many wonderful people and Northerners, but one of the perils are my eyes aren’t so good looking into the gallery. I’m going to try to recognize some of the folks I do see, so I apologize to anyone I miss. Certainly, Grand Chief Herb Norwegian, Chief Tim Lennie, Chief Lloyd Chicot, I believe James Christie, president, Chief Michael Matou, Chief Joachim Bonnetrouge, Chief Gladys Norwegian, Acting Chief Steve Jose, Violet Jumbo, Ria Letcher, Patrick Scott, and certainly Jim...

The Minister had mentioned that there was going to be some new homelessness money going from $325,000 to $855,000. Can I get some detail on what that initiative is specifically targeted at and where we can expect to see it rolled out?