Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Do we get equal time? Anyway, Mr. Chairman, previous standing committees on finance have indicated their active support for housing as a high priority. There has been a comprehensive audit and many internal studies, and yet the corporation still appears to be in a state of confusion. The corporation's capital estimates fall far short of the aggressive goals recommended by the previous standing committee.
This committee recognizes that the new management needs time to implement change; however it is essential that an action plan on how we are going to meet the needs of the communities be developed, along with the appropriate schedules; who, when, how and what. You cannot build a house without a blueprint and good project management. We certainly cannot build a housing corporation without a good blueprint and good management.
With respect to the Housing Corporation's budget, the standing committee on finance recommended that:
1) cabinet re-examine government capital projects in light of the fundamental housing needs, and develop a 10-year plan to eliminate the public housing shortfall. This, of course, was previously recommended by our colleague from across the way;
2) the corporation complete a credible housing needs survey as soon as possible, and commit that those communities that did not receive a fair and equitable allocation of housing units this year, be caught up in next year's budget, and that the NWT Housing Corporation consult with the communities on the allocation between HAP and public housing units to ensure the needs of all the residents are addressed. As recommended by the previous standing committee, the NWT Housing Corporation should provide the detail of future years' capital expenditures in the 1993-94 capital estimates and SCOF books;
4) that the corporation provide capital broken down by community in the SCOF books. The committee does not agree with the corporation's concern that making this information public is too erroneous or will drive up the end price. It is beyond us. However, as recommended by the previous committee, the NWT Housing Corporation should build more apartment-type buildings to take advantage of economies of scale to put more housing units into the communities sooner.
The committee does not accept the unsatisfactory response provided by the corporation in the past. It is the responsibility of cabinet to ensure that there is a plan and solid management in place, and we certainly intend to monitor in the future that this takes place. Thank you.