Mr. Speaker, I have a statement regarding the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation and the Expanded Down Payment Assistance Program, also known as EDAP. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation states that its overall objection is to help families and individuals obtain homes that meet their specific needs. Yet the EDAP program fails to meet the specific needs of the families and individuals of the smaller communities in the North.

Mr. Speaker, the EDAP program was introduced by the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, replacing six other programs that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation previously offered. These programs were the Down Payment Assistance Program, the Purchase Program, the Access Program, the Forgivable Loan Program, the Direct Lend Program and the Home Improvement Program.

However, the consolidation of many programs into one has left significant gaps in the coverage offered by the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. First, the EDAP program requires that clients arrange conventional bank financing or private mortgages, and cover the portion of costs that are not covered by the corporation under the program. EDAP clients have to privately finance between 95 percent and 30 percent of their new home.

There are no banks or financial institutions in most of the communities in the North. In such instances, it is difficult, if not impossible, for residents to make private arrangements. Also, in many small communities, a greater number of residents are engaged in seasonal work or a multitude of part-time occupations, as opposed to larger centres where there is a greater percentage of residents employed full-time by government agencies.

Residents engaged in seasonal work find it harder to obtain even the smallest private mortgage, a prerequisite of the EDAP program. Therefore, the EDAP program does not meet the mandate of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation in that it fails to meet the specific needs of the residents of the smaller communities.

Mr. Speaker, the EDAP program is primarily suited to larger regional centres and appears to be of limited use to the residents of other communities in the North. The reason that it is so important that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation develops an appropriate program for all residents in the Northwest Territories is that the housing program in the North is getting worse, in absolute terms, rather than better.

According to the Northwest Territories Housing Needs Survey 2000, the number of households found to be in core need in the Northwest Territories had increased by 237...