Mr. Chairman, I would just like to address my own constituency. I don't know how the needs survey was done. On the reserve, there are something like 43 houses that need to be replaced because of the unsafe conditions of the units. There is no running water, sewage, even the lighting was not up to standard. The houses were fire hazards. But, because they had no allocation for housing, most of the people are still living in those kinds of conditions. I know lives were lost last year and the year before because of the lack of good heating system, and things like that.
I thought maybe I'd mention that last year, after the needs survey was redone, the community did identify the need for more houses, but the allocation was already determined so the reserve ended up with no units at all. I believe, however, that after the need was identified, I'm not too sure, but I think two units were allocated. I want to express that the need is far greater than what it seems.
The other problem we have, Mr. Speaker, is we have a lot of old units, northern rental units, in Fort Providence that need to be upgraded substantially. I would think it would save the government, in the long run, if those old rental units, if they aren't replaced, are improved to the point where at least they're heat efficient so it would be less costly to maintain those units. Thank you.