Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I watched a show on TV called Holmes on Homes and thought it would be great if we had a fellow like that in the Sahtu, especially associated with the CARE programs offered by the NWT Housing Corporation.
The CARE program provides a forgivable loan so that people on low incomes can cover the costs of preventative maintenance to their homes. According to the latest housing survey in the Sahtu region, the Sahtu region had the highest percentage of core need income threshold in the Northwest Territories.
The CARE program is a good program. It helps people in the North take pride in their home and I think it would do more for the elderly and disabled people in our smaller communities. Persons with disabilities can get additional funding to make their houses easier to live in.
Right now the CARE program provides a loan so that people can do the repairs themselves. Seniors and disabled persons are not able to do the work by themselves, so they have to rely on a contractor. They get a loan to do this. It’s not always possible to find contractors or tradespeople in our small communities. Also, building materials are expensive and special tools and parts often have to be shipped in from outside the Sahtu.
We can help the elderly and disabled in our small communities by connecting them with qualified tradespeople to do the work and by subsidizing the rate of costs. There needs to be a number they can call if their washer or dryer breaks down or hot water tank needs to be replaced. It would make life a lot easier for our people.
We have a small population of seniors and persons with disabilities in the Sahtu. It should be possible to develop a maintenance plan to meet their specific needs and the needs of other people like them in other regions. Our people deserve to live independently for as long as they can and a little bit of help would go a long way to ensure they get maintenance of their health and their homes.
Such programs would be in the best interest of the government. It costs a lot to house people in full-time care facilities and that money is well spent. However, can you imagine how little it costs if government could help them stay in their own homes for five or 10 more years? We owe it to these folks. Let’s show them how much we care about their homes.