Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I welcome the discussion on the long-term staff housing strategy.
Over the years there has been a general recognition that the staff housing program must be revamped. The government, in 1979, participated with both public service unions on a task force on housing. The recommendations from that study are almost identical to the current strategy, but they were not fully implemented at that time.
In 1985, the Special Committee on Housing made recommendations to deal with the problems in staff housing. Again they were consistent with the long-term staff housing strategy. A motion was passed by the previous legislature emphasizing the urgent need for the government to get out of staff housing. This housing strategy represents the first concerted effort by this government to equalize rents and adjust problems which have been recognized but not solved since 1967.
This strategy is designed to increase home ownership and to implement rents which are closer to the costs tenants would be charged in private sector housing. Yellowknife was chosen as the base for these rents because they are significantly lower than the true costs of providing a unit of accommodation off the highway system.
At this point, only 1,400 of over 6,000 employees on our payroll occupy staff housing. Another 1,000 employees occupy public housing and over 3,500 obtain shelter on the private market. If only a small portion of staff housing tenants were to invest in their own homes, it would have a significant impact on the northern real estate market, the construction industry and business in general.
While many of our tenants can afford their own homes, it is clear that some would prefer to rent. With the exception of Hay River, Fort Smith, Yellowknife and Inuvik, this option will still be available to staff. The strategy has given careful consideration to the rental situation for low income tenants. Provisions have been built into the program to provide shelter assistance in the form of rental adjustments. This will keep shelter costs below 30 per cent of household incomes.
Mr. Chairman, Cabinet welcomes Members' comments on the strategy and we will listen carefully to what will be said. We appreciate the feedback we have already received from ordinary Members in the last few days, and the consultation which has occurred. This has helped us to understand the concerns and given us time to explore options to deal with them. If there are any questions, we would be pleased to answer them in as much detail as we can. We look forward to a healthy, rational exchange of views on this issue.
Mr. Chairman, in dealing with questions I would ask staff from the Department of Personnel to join me.