I was copied a letter from the mayor of Sachs Harbour to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment outlining the community’s concerns about the lack of availability of housing for teachers, and how some government policies have a negative impact on newly hired employees.
It is simple, Mr. Speaker. There is a limited rental market in Sachs Harbour. Newly hired teachers have been forced to double up to share a public housing unit because there is nowhere else for them to go. In addition, when the rent was calculated on the unit last year, they ended up having to pay 50 per cent out of their take-home pay towards their rent, and pay utilities.
Mr. Speaker, this is a 100 per cent increase in rent charged for the same unit just a year ago.
There are also issues of freight allowances for new hires. One of the latest hires had to bring a bed into the community for a bad back. The other had to bring a washer and dryer for their rental accommodations. As you can imagine, this severely impacted the availability of food shipped up at the same time, meaning they were forced to pay the significantly higher costs of buying locally. This needs to be addressed, Mr. Speaker.
The children in the small communities have the right to quality education. We need to create a working and living environment for teachers so they will stay and become a part of the community. If they have to spend all of their wages on keeping a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs, there is no incentive for them to stay, beyond their love of teaching and the joy they get out of seeing the children succeed.
We need to address these issues and move forward in ensuring the success of our children.