Madam Chair, I just wanted to take the very first opportunity to apologize and retract. I could not come up with another way of saying it. I'm frankly tired of arguing about the BIP. If the government thinks that this doesn't work, then deal with it, get rid of it, present evidence for it. Don't just say well, we're not going to apply it because this is the only way we're going to have housing in the NWT.
Another thing, Madam Chair. I think I've gone over two issues. One is the kind of relationship the Minister and the corporation is going to have with the Social Programs committee; the second thing is the BIP.
For the Minister to say I think RWED is reviewing this policy and you could ask them; well, I think all the Cabinet Ministers should get a lesson on what it means to have a government policy, and their obligations to follow their own policy. What would we do if the Minister came up and said we don't...Okay, you want to make an exception? You should be able to establish that. You can't just announce it in the newspaper and say we're not going to have this apply. Then when you get asked about it and say this was done by the last Assembly, what kind of avoidance of responsibility is that?
Like I said earlier today, I am really tired of not having any input, or Ministers just going and doing things and making an exception for where it meets their interests, or where it serves their purpose. Then to come back and say well, if you don't support this, you're not supporting the housing policy for the Territories. We had a Member who showed a direct concern about the fact that mobile homes in the NWT may not be the way to go. The Housing Corporation is suggesting now, the Minister is suggesting we're going to get these mobile homes and we're going to sell them to the market. It's going to be cost recovery. Well, we
wanted to know more about that. We have a suggestion in the committee report that suggests that we think there should be more studies done to see if these communities are ready to go onto the open market, because it takes transition. When I asked that question earlier, the Minister said well, you know, I have all the information. So I just think that's showing a complete disrespect for the process here, a complete disrespect for the work of the committees, and I hope that's the last time the Minister does that, because if that's how he wants to work together, then I'm ready to do it that way too and I don't think that's going to get us anywhere. I will just end my statement there. Thank you.