Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do not want to monopolize this, but I just want to assure the Minister that if there are some changes made, if the shock affect is reduced, and I think 25 per cent was a very hard hit in year one in the middle of a recession, if the implementation is staged in a more reasonable manner, if the formula for rents and utilities are adjusted to reflect inequities we know exist in climate and in the cost of living in our communities, if there is some kind of a review or consultation process developed to monitor and get constructive criticism on the issues that will arise in this very complicated manner, if there are some incentives for private home ownership, then the strategy can be successful. I want to be constructive in my comments, but I cannot ignore the many issues and problems which have been brought to my attention and have already forced the government to make major revisions.
Mr. Chairman, before I let other Members speak, I just want to elaborate a bit on the point about encouraging incentives to private home ownership. You know, Mr. Chairman, I think this should be seen as an opportunity for the many employees, and many of them are my constituents who are lucky enough to live in detached units, who actually want to buy their units. I think they should be given strong encouragement. I was very alarmed because one of my constituents has been very anxious to buy his unit and there were some signals given that it would be made easy and it would be encouraged, then he got a letter saying "We will have to look at the government's overall housing requirements before we decide whether we can sell your unit." This was in Iqaluit.
Mr. Chairman, free advice to the Minister, make it easy for those employees who want to buy houses to buy the houses. Take into account the age and depreciated value of those units because this is a quick way to getting to your objective of getting out of staff housing. You could almost give away the units or make the price so reasonable that it will not be greater than the employee's current rent or maybe even a little less than their current rent, and the government will be laughing all the way to the bank. There will be a private market created in the communities. There will be private tradesmen who will be employed or who will create businesses. There will be all kinds of tremendous spin-offs.
Even in Iqaluit, where there is a growing private real estate market, the employees who have approached your department and asked for help are still waiting. They are waiting for the assessment, they are waiting for word on the process and they are getting all kinds of precautions about the government maybe needing your unit after all. If you are making it hard for people in Iqaluit to buy units, then how on earth are you going to do it in the level III communities where the bank will not finance, with all the revenues you are going to get from the sales, or set up a mortgage program? Allow them to purchase on a lease-to-purchase arrangement. Make it easy for those who want to buy, this is a way of achieving your objective.
I am not sure, with the greatest of respect to the bureaucracy, that they have the will to give up these great responsibilities they have for maintenance and repair, et cetera. I am not sure the signal has gotten through to the bureaucracy that the object is to get out of staff housing and you should be encouraging sales. I would like to see a change in the signals which are coming out to those individual employees. I am sure the Minister agrees that they should be encouraged.
If those changes, Mr. Chairman, can be put into affect and we can make some further compromises that will lessen the hit affect and improve employee morale and reduce the danger of turn over, then I think we will make progress with this strategy and you will find you get support from many employees and MLAs you have not enjoyed up to date. Thank you.