Thank you, Madam Speaker. As everyone in the House knows, I have a major concern about the way the Housing Corporation allocates new units to the communities of the Northwest Territories. Madam Speaker, while I appreciate the job the Minister is doing with the limited resources available to this department, I, nonetheless, firmly believe that the allocation of housing according to the 1992 needs survey is flawed.
If, in fact, the allocation of housing is based on the 1992 housing needs survey, it seems to me, Madam Speaker, that the number of houses built in each community each year would remain constant. Every year, Madam Speaker, since we have implemented the allocation of housing based on the needs survey, we have reviewed the number of units that each community was to receive for the upcoming fiscal year. So why is it, Madam Speaker, if the entire process of allocation is based on the 1992 housing needs survey, that when it comes to the actual construction year, the allocations are again changed from the forecast in the main estimates?
Have the housing needs in a given community changed since the 1992 survey? Madam Speaker, how do these allocations change from year to year? If they are building, for example, 13 units in Hay River or three units in Fort Providence, shouldn't the allocations remain the same for the next year, or at least remain constant until the next housing needs survey?
Madam Speaker, the entire process of allocation, particularly in communities where there exists a viable rental market, disturbs me. It is, I believe, the smaller communities and those without a rental market that require our help. As the Minister indicates, there are a number of communities nearing Yellowknife's status as a community that are not eligible for funding under programs available in the NWT Housing Corporation.
I have concerns that these communities will continue to receive units under the Housing Corporation's program, even after they have been designated as having a viable housing market.
Madam Speaker, I would like to get unanimous consent to conclude my statement.