Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The airport on the south side of Edzo is a community airport that was built by the community and it being operated by the community. There are no projects included in the capital plan for the Dogrib region. Most of the communities have all had their airports rehabilitated. Their facilities have also been worked on and we believe they are in good shape.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will take the Minister's word on that. Thank you.

Thank you. Can we go back to highways, CAP-22?

Total highways, $37.862 million.

CAP-23, road licensing and safety, total licensing and safety, $200,000, total department, $47.752 million.

My apologies. I was told to call out total licensing and safety, $200,000.

Total department, $47.752 million.

Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is it in order to report progress at this time, or do we proceed into the Housing Corporation budget?

Does the committee agree we are concluded with the Department of Transportation?

At this time, I would like to thank Mr. McLeod and Lynn Cook and Russell Neudorf. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. At the beginning of the session we agreed that we would complete Transportation and the Housing Corporation. At this point in time, is it the wish of the committee to take a break or continue on? Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Earlier we received concurrence from the committee that we would progress on to the review of the NWT Housing Corporation, and I would recommend that we would continue with reading the reports into the record. Thank you.

There has been a request from Mr. Allen to continue on with the NWT Housing Corporation.

At this point, Honourable Michael McLeod, are you willing to make your Minister's opening comments? Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to represent the 2004-05 budget for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. We have requested a total contribution of $53.047 million which represents an increase of $76,000 or .1 percent over the corporation's 2003-2004 allocation. Including other revenue sources of $50.439 million, the corporation will spend over $100 million on housing in the Northwest Territories this year. This funding includes contributions from our federal partner, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

The contributions outlined in these estimates will allow the corporation to work towards fulfilling the challenges of suitable, adequate and affordable housing for northern residents.

The corporation recently completed the 2004 NWT community survey. The survey's results will provide the corporation with a clear picture of the progress that has been made in the last four years. The survey findings will also allow the corporation to ensure that new strategies, such as the 10-year plan, will optimize funding that will be used to provide homes for residents who are most in need.

I am pleased to outline today the corporation's primary strategy to continue with the work of addressing housing issues across the NWT. The corporation's 10-year plan is a comprehensive strategy with four key objectives.

• • Continued federal commitment to housing across the Northwest Territories;
• •
• • Increase personal responsibility by residents so that we can break the cycle of dependency;
• • Optimize the public housing portfolio and increase community involvement, decision-making and participation with the management of local housing; and,
• • To ensure the development of private housing markets in non-market communities.

The decline of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation funding is a critical issue for the corporation. Under the social housing agreement, the corporation was provided funding that will gradually decline to zero by the year 2038. That funding decline began last year. Each successive year means increased pressure on housing funding for government. A critical component of the 10-year plan will be to work with the federal government to ensure that they continue funding affordable housing in the NWT. The NWT must obtain ongoing federal funding to achieve strategic objectives, which will help to maintain the territory's existing public housing capacity.

As our territory experiences this period of economic expansion, increased employment opportunities have been presented to our residents. Unfortunately, a cycle of dependency has developed in regards to social housing over many years. Increased economic prosperity has done little to change this cycle. So as part of the 10-year plan, the corporation is going to work hard to change perceptions and attitudes of dependency of its clients and encourage them to become more responsible and accountable for their own housing choices.

New federal funding and increased personal responsibility will not fill the entire gap. The corporation will work closely with its community partners over the life of the 10-year plan to ensure that the public housing portfolio is optimized. This means that the corporation, under its sale of public housing initiative, will have to sell public housing that is more costly to operate, such as its fully detached units, and replace them with more energy efficient multi-units.

The 2004 NWT community survey will help ensure that each community public housing portfolio is optimized so that those most in need are assisted. To achieve this, the corporation will work with public housing tenants who have stable employment and use its programs to move those tenants into homeownership.

Finally, the corporation has developed its universal partnership agreement. This agreement provides communities with new decision-making abilities, as well as increased levels of responsibility and accountability. Increasing the communities' role in optimizing the public housing portfolio as well as involving them in homeownership decisions, will play an important part in ensuring that the right decisions are made in each community.

The corporation needs to work with the private sector in our smaller non-market communities, to create housing markets where none existed before. We need to ensure that our non-market communities have an adequate supply of market homes so that communities can build needed capacity as the economic opportunities of our territory begin to benefit them. In addition, market rental homes are a critical component of attracting and retaining much needed professionals to these communities so that we can ensure future generations have access to education and healthcare. To achieve this, the corporation will launch its market rental housing initiative under the budgetary plan. Under this initiative 42 new market rental units will be developed in the first two years of the initiative. It is important to note that these units will not be subsidized by the Government of the Northwest Territories in any way. These units will be provided with the new objective of getting them on the ground in our communities at the lowest possible cost.

The corporation has developed specific initiatives and strategies to assist with the implementation of its 10-year plan. By working with our community partners, partnering with the federal government, working closely with the private sector and directly with our most important partner, our residents, the corporation is confident that it can continue to address the housing needs of residents despite the challenges we face.

At this time, I would be pleased to answer any questions the committee may have. Thank you. That concludes my opening remarks.