Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I became the Minister of Housing, one of the things which I noticed right away was the high cost of running the NWT Housing Corporation Board of Directors. It is a duplication of services. We have 11 Members in this House from the Eastern Arctic who can represent their areas quite well. I do not believe we need a board to have that input into the policy.
There are a lot of other avenues as well. There is a needs survey that is going to be done this year, which is done every three years. That needs survey is what drives your housing programs. Your communities are going to be responsible for doing it, and they are going to have input into doing it. They are going to be assisted by the NWT Housing Corporation. The communities will do the needs survey, and in that needs survey they will basically tell the Housing Corporation what types of houses they want; what types of designs they want; and how many bedrooms they need and when they need them. Everything is supposed to be delivered in a fair way to all of the communities in the Northwest Territories, whether you are in the East or the West. Everything is judged on need.
I can assure the Member that the smaller communities will get their housing, because the needs survey will indicate that they are in need of so many houses, whether it is 100 or 10, and they will get their fair share.
The amendment to legislation to protect the small communities will be done through the needs survey, because all of the communities will be treated equally. The Housing Corporation Board of Directors, right now, costs us $1.3 million, I believe, and it is a duplication of services. You have your housing authorities; housing associations that provide input at their level, up to our level; the MLAs; and the citizen who can pick up a phone and call the Minister's office. The MLAs can all call the Minister's office or walk across the street and visit the Minister and have their concerns expressed that way. I believe it is a duplication of service, and I would prefer to have the $1.3 million in my budget to deliver housing programs rather than continue to fund the board. Thank you.