Yes, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to present the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation’s main estimates for the fiscal year 2009-2010, which requests a total GNWT contribution of $37.820 million.
This is a decrease of 28 percent from the 2008-2009 main estimates and is primarily due to the sunsetting of the Northern Housing Trust, which provided $50 million in federal housing investment over the past three years. Together with other revenues of $69.673 million the corporation will have approximately $107 million available to spend on housing in the Northwest Territories this fiscal year.
As Members are aware, the federal government has recently announced significant new short-term investments in housing in the Northwest Territories as part of its stimulus package to boost the Canadian economy. Based on information received through federal budget documents and in discussions with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the NWT Housing Corporation anticipates that it will receive approximately $55 million in new federal investment over the next two years, some of which must be cost-matched. The federal investment in the NWT will include funding for:
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renovation and retrofit of social housing;
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housing for low-income seniors;
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housing for persons with disabilities; and
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northern housing.
This investment will be focused on the construction of new public housing units and affordable homes, the repair and retrofitting of public housing units, and the repair of private homes. Until we receive formal confirmation of the NWT’s allocation expected within the next few weeks, we are unable to confirm our allocations related to these additional resources.
Fully utilizing this recently announced federal support will be challenging, however, the delivery of past projects under the Northern Housing Trust has strengthened the capacity of our construction partners in communities. The private sector’s
ability to respond and to deliver gives us confidence that they will be able to maintain this momentum over the next few years as we work together to address the housing needs of Northerners.
It should also be noted that the funds recently committed by the federal government come with a strict two-year timeline for delivery. All funds must be committed within a two-year window. We understand that jurisdictions who do not have the capacity to deliver will risk having funds reallocated to other jurisdictions. The Housing Corporation is currently in the process of completing their detailed project plan and I am confident that the corporation will meet the federal requirements associated with this initiative.
As the Housing Corporation completes the plans for this new investment, we can confirm that our current capital acquisition and program delivery plan, provided for in the 2009-2010 main estimates, proposes to invest over $27 million in new housing and repairs. This includes $9.8 million to construct new housing units, as well as $7.9 million in major modernization and improvement projects to upgrade the existing public housing rental stock.
A portion of this $27 million investment has been funded through the GNWT’s strategic initiatives process. This includes a $2 million increase in the Contributing Assistance for Repairs and Enhancements -- CARE -- Homeownership Program, under the Reducing the Cost of Living Strategic Initiative, to fund repairs for low-income households. Repairs completed with this funding will focus on health and safety, structural, mechanical, and energy efficiency upgrades of homes. Additionally, $1.5 million in funding has been allocated, under the Refocusing Government Strategic Initiative, to develop and implement, in partnership with the Department of the Executive and service departments, a housing for staff initiative that provides incentives to communities, aboriginal development corporations, and private industry, to develop housing that can be used by essential service providers in our smaller communities.
The Housing Corporation will invest an additional $1 million received under the GNWT’s energy investment plan into its modernization and improvements budget to conduct energy retrofits on 100 public housing units on which home energy evaluations were conducted in 2008-2009.
We also plan to invest $3.3 million in minor modernization and improvements on our public housing rental stock through our local housing organizations. In addition to the $2 million that I have previously mentioned will be allocated to the CARE program under the Reducing the Cost of Living Strategic Initiative, we have set aside $3
million to fund additional homeownership repair and renovation projects. These will be expended through the CARE program and through federal renovation programs such as the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program, RRAP, and the Emergency Repair Program, ERP.
An investment of $88,000 will also be made by the Housing Corporation as part of a four-year strategy to assist local housing organizations in the hiring and retention of much needed apprentices in the housing trades.
In 2009-2010, the Housing Corporation has also identified expenditure reductions in the amount of $1.5 million, which reflect our efforts to reduce costs while minimizing the impact on our delivery of programs and services. Forced-growth funding in the amount of $504,000 is also being requested by the corporation for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, to address a base deficiency in our office accommodation budget.
The Housing Corporation remains committed to meet the housing needs of our residents. While the last three years have seen substantial investments in homeownership and public housing replacement, our housing needs remain high. Our primary focus in the next two years will be on conducting energy retrofits and upgrades to existing units and providing assistance to low-income homeowners to repair their own homes.
In closing, it should be noted that while we are very pleased with the federal government’s commitment to the North through new housing investments, the sustainability of our existing public housing stock remains at risk if we are unable to secure a long-term funding commitment from the federal government. We will continue our efforts, in concert with other provincial and territorial jurisdictions, to encourage the federal government to work with us to address the housing needs of our residents and ensure the sustainability of NWT communities.
That concludes my opening remarks. At this time, I would be pleased to answer any questions the committee may have. Thank you.