Mahsi, Madam Speaker. Today, I rise in this House to speak about housing. Yesterday, I mentioned that the federal government is continuing to reduce funding support to the Northwest Territories in a number of areas. One of the most critical areas of funding cuts is support for social housing.
Madam Speaker, people in my constituency need funding support for housing. The federal government has the fiduciary responsibility to provide this support. It was part of the treaty made in 1921 by my ancestors. I understand that the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation and our federal Members of Parliament have been working very hard to convince the federal government to reinstate this funding support. So far, these efforts have not been successful.
In the meantime, people in the communities have been allocated fewer housing units. In addition, I'm told that the number of staff in the Housing Corporation has not decreased. In fact, it seems that some positions may even have been added. It doesn't make sense, Madam Speaker, that funding from the federal government has been cut, fewer housing units are being allocated to communities, and yet the size of the bureaucracy responsible for delivering the programs remains the same.
It seems to me that we need to look at new ways to deliver programs. Maybe we also need new ways to find out what people in the communities really want and need. They need to have a say in how services are delivered in our communities. It may be that standards are too high. Maybe it would be more cost- beneficial to build smaller houses, but to build more of them. Maybe the standards should be more flexible so that the communities can make more decisions for themselves.
Madam Speaker, I strongly urge the government to examine the way the housing program is being delivered and to find new ways of meeting the housing needs of our citizens. In looking for innovative ways to deliver the housing program, the government must keep in mind the reduced funding and that people in the communities must be involved in the decisions that affect their lives every day. Mahsi cho.
---Applause