He may be Mr. Teflon, but we are not going to let him get away with it.
---Laughter
He brought so many people here, the least we could do is ask them questions. Mr. Chairman, I think that most of this has been said in the past, and some in resolutions. I think that it is important, at least in my perspective, that one of the directions that we gave to the Housing Corporation is that we have got to look at alternative sources of funding.
I do not think we can down play that, I do not think it is just the Housing Corporation, I think it is the whole G.N.W.T. We have been too long, wards of the state, as they say. I think it is important that, at the senior management level, they find the time and energy to try and determine how other jurisdictions go about building housing.
If we continue on the same track that we are going, there is no resolve to the current problem, we are just going to be in a chaotic mess. Never mind the human costs of not being able to provide housing for people, there is an economic component attached to it. Let us not discount that. You know what kind of jobs, what kind of economic activity, takes place when you are building these houses in the small communities, that will undoubtedly not be there, therefore somebody has to pick up the slack, therefore, it is a cost to the G.N.W.T.
From my perspective, I feel that should be on the top of the list of priorities. As was indicated earlier, by Mr. Dent, the Standing Committee on Finance is looking, at the present time, at some creative ways in which to provide the Housing Corporation with some advice on alternative sources of funding.
With respect to more cost-effective design, we all read the newspapers, but some of us who are more knowledgeable, know that we can, in fact, build houses cheaper than how we have built them in the past. There has to be a more open attitude to this.
More importantly, one of the frustrations that I have had over the years, in my former life as a contractor, was the total lack of involvement of the contractors when you were trying to determine how you can more cost-effectively build housing. I found it very frustrating, why would not you go to the people who know most about how to build houses?
I understand that the Minister is putting forward workshops, I will beat you to the punch there, Mr. Elkin, to determine this, but the fact of the matter is, in the past it has not happened. I am pleased to see that it is going to happen in the future, and I hope it will be an ongoing process.
I think, if we stick to what we are doing, and modify it, make some of the changes that are necessary, we are a long way in terms of making housing more cost-effective. I think we are on the right track, when it comes to involving northern contractors, I have said that to the Minister before, and I hope he will continue the way he is going.
Clearly, and I can say here publicly that I am as guilty as anyone else in the past of perhaps not involving northerners as much as we should. With this new integrated approach, I hope that the current trend towards ensuring that northerners get the opportunity to build these houses, with some important conditions, continues.
Again, I think the Minister and Mr. Elkin should be congratulated for those efforts and it is not often that I give out compliments. I am not convinced however, that the previous staff necessarily saw this as a priority. I think that, under the previous jurisdiction they saw their mandate as merely building houses, rather than looking at the greater good of the Northwest Territories.
I did express in committee my concern with respect to the H.A.P. houses versus the public housing, and I know you did address it in your speech. I am concerned that we must ensure that there is adequate public housing for those that cannot afford to be in the homeownership program, and there are many of them in all of our jurisdictions.
The desire to build eight H.A.P.s versus one public house, I can understand, but it should not be to the detriment of those who need it most. I cannot stress that enough. I think we need to ensure that we do not get carried away with trying to build more houses, to the detriment of the people who desperately need housing.
I have two questions. One is, I would like to know at what point the Minister will be in a position to tell us how many public housing and H.A.P. units are going to come forward. The second would be the new criteria that you are setting for H.A.P., when will that come forward. These are two, very important, fundamental questions that have to be answered. I wonder if I can get those answered first, Mr. Chairman.