Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to present the 1993-94 budget for the N.W.T. Housing Corporation for the committee's review. The corporation's 1993-94 capital program responds to the challenging environment in which we are now operating. There are many challenges that face us as we develop plans to meet the housing needs of the people of the Northwest Territories. These challenges include:
- a growing housing shortage;
- reduced federal funding; and
- a need to maximize local and regional economic benefits from capital projects.
Mr. Chairman, the 1992 Needs Survey indicated that there is a growing housing shortage. Over 3,500 households across the N.W.T. are living in housing which is not adequate, suitable or affordable. The number of households in need has increased by 14 per cent over the last two years, even though the corporation has delivered over 800 social housing units. The N.W.T. has the highest birth rate in the country and over 40 per cent of our population is under the age of 19. This means that as these young people grow up and start having families of their own, there will be a continuing and increased demand for new housing.
In many of our communities it is already very difficult for these young families to find housing of their own. We are facing this growing housing shortage with less help from the federal government than we ever had before. The impact of the federal funding cut back shows up clearly in the corporation's 1993-94 capital budget, Mr. Chairman.
Up until this year C.M.H.C.'s contribution has always matched or been greater than the G.N.W.T. allocation. However, in 1993-94, the Government of the Northwest Territories will spend $30.95 million of its capital budget on housing. The C.M.H.C. capital contribution will amount to just over $13 million. We are still working hard to convince the federal government to share more equally with us the cost of meeting the housing needs of the northerners.
New access to home ownership programs will be offered by the N.W.T. Housing Corporation in 1993-94. The new home ownership programs are timely, not only because they respond to a wide range of housing needs, but because they are a more cost-effective way of meeting those needs. The new programs are an essential part of the corporation's strategy to cope with federal funding reductions.
It is very important that the housing programs are delivered in a way that generates maximum economic business and training opportunities for the communities. To meet this objective, the corporation is participating in the development of a government-wide strategy to promote training opportunities in the construction trades. This is a joint effort with the Department of Government Services and Public Works, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment Programs and the N.W.T. Housing Corporation.
Changes to the programs have also been made in order to maximize the number of home ownership and public housing units that can be delivered in 1993-94. For example, we have improved our building design, and simpler lay-outs and mechanical systems will make construction and maintenance easier. These design changes will apply to the public housing program and the home ownership program. We are also maximizing benefits to northern manufacturers, suppliers and businesses in the delivery of the housing program by specifying construction materials that can be manufactured in the north. This includes lumber, windows, water and sewer tanks, screw jack foundations and pads. Building material supplier tenders will also be broken down to cater to smaller northern manufacturers and suppliers. The Business Incentive Policy now applies to all N.W.T. Housing Corporation projects, including those cost shared with C.M.H.C. Most extensive use of the Rent Supplement Program will be made to encourage developers to provide built to lease public housing. This will combine with the G.N.W.T.'s staff housing requirements to further encourage and develop the private housing market in more communities. Funding requirements for the Rent Supplement Program will appear in the corporation's 1993-94 O & M budget as there is no direct capital investment by the corporation on these projects.
An important aspect of the housing delivery is encouraging the development of northern construction companies. This is addressed through the training initiative I mentioned earlier, and through various approaches to program delivery including:
- labour only contracts;
- project management contracts;
- supply, shipping and erecting contracts; and
- design/build contracts.
The corporation is also organizing workshops with northern builders to get their input on the new designs and program changes. We are committed to working cooperatively with northern construction companies to continually improve our housing designs and construction methods to maximize cost-effectiveness and efficiency.
The new home ownership programs, combined with the program changes and new initiatives I have just described, have been designed to enable the Housing Corporation to do better with less. All of these efforts are needed if social housing delivery is to be maintained at effective levels, so that we can address the needs of people in the communities. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.