Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like the rest of Canada, the Northwest Territories is experiencing a shortage of affordable housing in many, if not all, of our communities. The Northwest Territories Housing Needs Survey for 2000, Mr. Speaker, highlights a greater need for renovations and repairs in the smaller communities and the need for solutions to affordability and overcrowding, particularly in our larger centres in Inuvik and Yellowknife.

In his budget address last week, the Minister of Finance offered some welcome news that will assist the private sector in developing rental accommodation by increasing the availability of reasonably priced and financed land for non-tax-based communities. I support this direction, Mr. Speaker, but I think it can go further, especially at this time of accelerated development due to mining and oil and gas.

Mr. Speaker, in our larger centres, the Northwest Territories has a capable private sector involved in constructing and owning housing. I do not believe the government has a role in doing anything of a competitive nature. This would interfere unduly in the market.

Having said that, I believe there is room for governments, both territorial and municipal, to assist in providing up-front assistance in developing the infrastructure to help make the lots and the land more affordable. Specifically, Mr. Speaker, we are looking at building the roads and the water and sewer networks that we need for modern communities.

If these up-front development costs were lowered, Mr. Speaker, this reduces the amount of financing that a developer needs to arrange and that means lower rents and cost of land for tenants and homeowners. I believe there is room for this government to be innovative and build on programs that will help municipal governments make land more affordable by reducing those high, upfront infrastructure costs.

I will be asking the Ministers responsible more about this during question period. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, early in the life of the 14th Legislative Assembly, Members developed the vision statement, Towards a Better Tomorrow. One of the shorter term goals that this Assembly set out as one of the key goals in the document is housing that is adequate, affordable and suitable.

Members of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight tabled a copy of our progress report on plans and priorities when we stated that we would continue to pursue adequate housing for Northerners. This report is intended to bring forth some discussion points and to serve as a reminder that we have not yet achieved our objective of suitable, adequate and affordable housing.

Housing problems are typically sorted into three categories: suitability, adequacy and affordability. The definitions are nationally set and are used by the Government of the Northwest Territories in assessing housing problems. Suitability refers to the problem of overcrowding, or whether a household has enough bedrooms appropriate for the number of people. Adequacy refers to the physical condition of a dwelling, or whether a household has the basic facilities to provide a safe and healthy environment. Affordability problems exist when a household pays an excessive amount for shelter. A household has an affordability problem if more than 30 percent of the household income is paid to shelter costs.

Mr. Speaker, it is not unusual to see adverse social and health impacts when any or all of these conditions are present in our communities. Overcrowding, lack of basic facilities such as hot and cold running water and indoor toilets can contribute to illness and lead to poor achievements.

If a household is paying more than 30 percent of income on shelter costs, we know that families need to cut back on other necessities, such as healthy food and necessary clothing. In addition to overcrowding because of a lack of affordable housing, larger communities are seeing a growing problem of homelessness.

Lack of affordable rental accommodation in many of our communities, especially those experiencing economic growth, is creating an additional problem in an employer's ability to staff positions. Some of these positions, such as health workers and teachers, provide basic and essential services to residents, and the inability to staff positions because there is no suitable accommodation is an issue of concern to Members.

Mr. Speaker, the 2000 Northwest Territories Housing Needs Survey was completed by the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation in partnership with the Northwest Territories Bureau of Statistics, local housing organizations and communities, and was tabled by the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

The Minister's message states that the survey shows that there are 2,726 households in need in the Northwest Territories, or one out of every five households. The Minister goes on to say that not all communities have the same types of housing problems and need. I quote:

In some communities the need is for renovation and repairs to existing homes rather than for new homes. In larger centres such as Yellowknife, Inuvik and Hay River, residents face problems of affordability rather than overcrowding or condition of the home.

That is from page 2 in the Minister's message.

Mr. Speaker, household size suggests that crowding issues are improving. In 1981, approximately 13.9 percent of households contained six or more residents compared to 7.8 percent of dwellings with six or more residents at the time of the 2000 NWT Housing Needs Survey. The source is the Bureau of Statistics, 2001 socio-economic scan.

However, Mr. Speaker, there is still a need to improve the conditions of the housing units in the smaller communities and to have affordable housing available, particularly in the larger centres.

The harmonization project was initiated to clear up the differences in the way income and need were assessed by the public housing and income support programs. It was intended to ensure that eligibility for government support is consistent, fair and equitable and that government resources go to the people with the greatest need.

Mr. Speaker, Members have raised questions related to the implementation of harmonized assessments and consequential adjustments to the current rent structure.

The committee welcomes the news that Canada and the Northwest Territories signed an affordable housing agreement earlier this month. The agreement is aimed at helping to increase the supply of affordable housing. According to the joint press release issued on February 5, 2002, the $7.5 million in new federal funding to be provided over a four-year period under this agreement will create an independent housing program that will enable low income families to access modest housing through home ownership and assisted rental housing, which will provide rent geared-to-income housing for low income seniors and singles.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has also highlighted this agreement in the 2002-2003 Budget Address. In addition, he announced that the Government of the Northwest Territories intends to help the private sector to respond to the demand for affordable rental accommodation in non-tax-based communities. Details as to how this will be achieved have not yet been made public, and members of our committee look forward to hearing more on this item.

Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight urges the government to move forward aggressively in developing affordable housing. We have, through letters and in our response to the review of the 2002-2003 Main Estimates, already expressed concern that this government has not proposed significant new monies for new and existing programs in the 2002-2003 budget. In addition to providing much needed housing, the construction process itself affords an opportunity for jobs and for local economic opportunities. Mr. Speaker, spending money on capital projects in the communities provides job creation and a host of benefits for Northerners, not the least of which is a place to live.

Mr. Speaker, that concludes the report of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight on adequate, affordable and suitable housing for residents of the Northwest Territories. You will have noticed that the housing theme ran through the Members' statements that were given earlier this afternoon. This report continues that theme of housing in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Committee Report 4-14(5) be received and adopted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. We have a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. All those in favour of the motion? Thank you. All those opposed? Thank you. The motion is carried. Committee Report 4-14(5) has been received and adopted. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister for Housing, Mr. Allen. What advertising or what information does the corporation make available to make the public aware that there are programs available to help them become homeowners or to repair their homes? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We use a number of methodologies. We use the local newspapers in some instances. We use the local TV stations in other instances. We also have flyers and brochures that are often circulated throughout the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Much of the information that is disseminated through the news media, TV, flyers, websites, these types of medium, is very general in nature, Mr. Speaker. I am wondering where members of the public can get more detailed information on these programs. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Besides the normal process of distributing information, we do have five district offices across the Northwest Territories. For the record, Mr. Speaker, we have the Mackenzie Delta/Beaufort district office in Inuvik. We have the Sahtu office in Norman Wells. We have an office in Fort Simpson, Hay River and we have the North Slave office here in Yellowknife, and also the headquarters in Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We will now take a short break.

-- Break

Thank you. The House will come back to order after a short break. We were on oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South was on his second supplementary. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we broke, the Minister was telling us they do have regional offices that disseminate information. I guess what I would like to ask is if the corporation has someone in every community where a resident can go to get advice on what kinds of programs might be suitable for their needs and also to know what they might qualify for. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We do have program officers in each region that are attached to each community. They are responsible for providing the detailed information on every element of our programs. If there needs to be more, I am prepared to advocate the need for greater promotion of our programs in those communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am wondering what kinds of efforts the corporation can make to help clients repair their homes if they do not qualify or do not quite meet the criteria. What does the corporation do? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We impose upon our staff to advise the clients of their eligibility. We try to assist them through understanding the prerequisites to qualify for each individual program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.