Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Minister Allen.
Debates of March 4th, 2002
This is page numbers 301 - 340 of the Hansard for the 14th Assembly, 5th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was housing.
Topics
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That point is well taken. It is out of our bailiwick. We still say in the context of those agreements we tend to support the bilateral agreement between those communities and ourselves who deliver on our behalf. If there is any problem with the process we are prepared to revisit the agreements to really find our working relationship.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Paul Delorey
Thank you, Mr. Allen. General comments? Detail? We are on page 8-9, NWT Housing Corporation, activity summary. Mr. Bell.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Brendan Bell Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have raised a concern in the House with Mr. Allen in this sitting about the gap that currently exists in the EDAP program for people who are hoping to access this in Yellowknife. I have only looked into the Yellowknife situation. It is entirely possible that it exists in other communities as well.
My concern is that in order to access the EDAP, Extended Down Payment Assistance Program, you have to meet several criteria. First, you either have to be in public housing or on the public housing wait list, but in order to be in public housing or on the wait list, you cannot make more than $43,000 a year or you are bumped off. This has happened to a constituent of mine who was bumped off the list because she made slightly more than $43,000.
The other criteria you have to meet is that you have to make approximately $52,000 minimum income -- that is the threshold test -- so that you can service a mortgage. So it is virtually impossible -- obviously, it is totally impossible to be both in public housing or on the public housing wait list, making less than $43,000 and also at the same time make more than $52,000 and meet the minimum threshold Minister Allen has indicated that they hope to address.
My concern is that last year in Yellowknife, there were five projects, EDAP grants, EDAP assistance given out. I have no way of understanding how those clients could have met this criteria that exists.
Although the Minister has indicated that we are looking to address this gap going forward, we have not done so yet. This year, in 2002-2003, the Housing Corporation is proposing that there will be 11 projects funded. None of these 11 projects could possibly meet the three criteria that I just outlined. I am wondering if the Minister can speak to that.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Beaulieu
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The public housing core income thresholds are based on the market conditions and the market rents across the city. They vary between one-bedroom to two-bedroom, three-bedroom, four-bedroom and five-bedroom requirements. As the bedroom counts go up, the income for allowance into the public housing program goes up.
The Member is referring to a situation where a two-bedroom public housing unit has a maximum income of $43,000 and a minimum of $53,000 to get into EDAP. We recognize that is a problem as well. We have recently been given a new market rent for the city, dealing with our partners, CMHC, and we feel that that gap is almost closed. What we intend to do with the minimum core income threshold for EDAP is to lower that enough so that gap is completely closed for this coming fiscal year.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Brendan Bell Yellowknife South
I certainly support the department in moving to close that gap. I am wondering if the president or the Minister can assure me that the five projects funded last year in Yellowknife were all deals worked with people either in public housing or on the public housing wait list, so there have been no exceptions to this criteria in the last year. Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We are confident that the gap was closed, if that is what the Member was referring to. Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Brendan Bell Yellowknife South
Thank you. Just for clarification, I just want assurance that none of the five projects funded last year were funded with individuals not in public housing or not on the public housing wait list. Regardless of income, I want to make sure that the five projects that we handed out were to individuals in public housing or on the wait list.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Beaulieu
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As far as we are aware here, all of the EDAP allocations in the city of Yellowknife were targeted to people in public housing, either public housing at the Yellowknife Housing Authority or the North Slave Housing Corporation, or on one of the two waiting lists eligible for one year. If the district had gone outside that policy, then a presidential decision paper would have been brought to my attention. In the last year, it is possible that they had a presidential decision paper where it allowed somebody outside of those two areas to get into EDAP, but I do not recall there being one decision paper with that regard.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Brendan Bell Yellowknife South
Thank you. So it is my understanding then, in order to get around the stipulated criteria, one way to do it is to have the LHO present the president with a presidential allowance paper asking for the criteria to be temporarily withdrawn in this certain applicant's case. Is that correct?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Beaulieu
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is the Housing Corporation district office, our own staff that will prepare the decision paper that comes to my office for consideration.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Brendan Bell Yellowknife South
Thank you. The other question that I have about those five projects that were given out, as the president has indicated, those folks were either in public housing or on the public housing wait list. I suppose it depends on the size of the unit, but I am wondering if the president can also assure me that all five of those projects were done with people who met the minimum threshold for income as well?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Beaulieu
I believe that all five individuals would have met the minimum threshold for EDAP unless, again, somebody below the minimum threshold was presented to me through a decision paper, which again, I do not recall that happening last year.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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