Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe it is incumbent upon us as elected Members of this Assembly to point it out when we see a demonstrated need in our communities and come up with a plan or programs to eliminate the situation. Mr. Speaker, one such program that would fill a void in Hay River is the independent housing program currently offered by the NWT Housing Corporation in various communities. This program assists low income families with housing needs to obtain a modest home. There are three market communities in the Northwest Territories, Mr. Speaker, that being Yellowknife, Inuvik, Hay River. However, the independent housing program that enables families to purchase homes is only offered in Inuvik and not Hay River. The argument that if the independent housing program operated in Hay River, it would cause market disruption does not wash with me, Mr. Speaker. We need to find a way to meet the needs of social housing market clients. The Housing Corporation's 2000 NWT housing needs strategy clearly identified that Hay River has a significant number of households in core need, 182 to be exact. I am sure that number has risen since the survey was conducted.
Mr. Speaker, one solution to the question of market disruption is to build into a client's mortgage a caveat whereby they would have an investment in the home and thereby pose no risk to the corporation of selling the home for less than market value. This would protect the financial investment and equity of private market homeowners. Mr. Speaker, it has always been my belief that this government should support homeownership and we should be promoting the idea of helping people to help themselves.
Mr. Speaker, I have heard there are a number of people in Hay River who are out doing the right thing and earning a living for their families. They are falling through the cracks. Mr. Speaker, some of these people are single mothers who are able to qualify through a commercial bank for a mortgage, but are turned down by the Housing Corporation simply because their income is slightly below the core need income threshold of $48,500, disqualifying them from the Housing Corporation's expanded down payment assistance program.
Mr. Speaker, I believe there is something inherently wrong with our system when we can do nothing for people with a lower income other than to encourage them to apply for public housing. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.