I’d like to talk about the issue that many of my constituencies as well as many others across the N.W.T. are facing today: the issue of the
public housing rental subsidy transfer to Education, Culture and Employment.
Since the time of the transfer of the public housing rental subsidy in April of 2006 from the N.W.T. Housing Corporation to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, local organizations have been experiencing operational problems and the tenants have been getting more and more frustrated.
For example, Mr. Speaker, Income Security has not been getting the tenants’ rental subsidy assessments done in time for an accurate assessment of the tenants’ rent. Many tenants do not know their rent until long after the first of the month. Most of these tenants are already surviving on a tight budget, and the last thing they need is to fall behind in their rent. This results in more tenants failing to pay their rent, with no way of catching up. This forces the local organizations to file termination orders against the tenants. Applications by local housing organizations to the rental office have increased, in some cases, ten times more when compared to the old system.
It is not sufficient for Income Security to say rent is economic rent. If the tenants do not report this income, Income Security should ensure the tenants do report this income by working with them, considering that public housing is usually a last resort for accommodation in many of our small communities.
Under the new system both the tenants and the LHOs are clearly frustrated with the quality of service provided by Income Security. As an example of this frustration, in one LHO alone, tenants’ rent accounts receivables have increased from $18,000 to $185,000 in one fiscal year.
The LHOs were created to operate at a community level for direct personal contact with tenants for all their housing needs. The new system has taken this full and effective service out of the public housing system and moved it into a system that has caused nothing but confusion, frustration and stress for both the local housing organizations and the tenants.
The new system is not working, plain and simple. With cutbacks and responsible governance being a priority of this new government, we cannot afford to let this problem drag on any further.