Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In regard to the Minister’s statement and also the housing programs, I note in this statement that he talked about promoting the sale of existing public housing units. I think that’s a great idea. I think we have something like 1,000 units that we’re trying to get rid of. I think the plan a number of years ago was 100 units a year for 10 years, take those dollars, reinvest it as one of the ways of dealing with the declining social funding from the federal government. Yet, I believe we have sold very few units. One of the major problems of that is we’ve overestimated the value of those assets and are expecting to get $80,000 or $90,000 for these units in our communities. No one will pay $80,000 or $90,000 for these old units which are over 35 and 40 years old.
I think we have to be realistic here. I think we should do whatever we can to deal hard-to-house people, people who are in the present system who do make a reasonable wage and can afford to maintain a unit, and have shown that they are able to pay their rent even through the economic rent system. That’s a frustration that we have. We have a lot of clients in public housing who can afford to maintain a home, but they get frustrated, too, because they see other people who aren’t in social housing get into public housing units that are being built. There are also units in our communities that are sitting vacant. I think the whole idea was to get people into those units, yet we have a lot of vacant units, especially the newer units that are coming on. We’re not doing anything from either end trying to get those units occupied by people who can show that they do have the capacity to maintain and operate these units.
Another issue that I didn’t really hear much of is the whole area, I know I raised it quite a few times, about people with disabilities in communities. I think that it was a pilot project tried in Yellowknife, but it has never gone to anywhere outside of Yellowknife to identify how this is especially designed for people with disabilities so that they can occupy these units, have it designed for their needs but, more importantly, have those units available, for we have high numbers of people with disabilities. I think it is crucial that we, as a government, seriously take a look at that. Again, it is something that I don’t see anywhere in the Minister’s statement.
The other area I think that we do have to realize in the areas dealing with the Department of Health and Social Services is seniors care facilities in communities regardless if it is permanent care, long-term care or basically just simply elders care facilities that make sense. As long as the numbers are there, we have the adequate number of people that we can put in these units and not build units just simply for the sake of building units. I think we have had some examples of that in other areas.
Again, I think that we do have to find a way of revamping the programs that we do have. I know that the Auditor General, a number of years ago, in the report, clearly stipulated the government has to find a system to do ongoing reviews of these housing programs and to ensure that they are doing what they are supposed to be doing, but more importantly, they are achieving the results we are hoping to achieve. I have raised the issue in this House in regards to how those programs and services are being delivered. I think that’s one of the biggest issues you hear from clients, especially in my riding. The income threshold that is used and in most cases they are refused because of their income. But yet, to operate and maintain a home in a community, especially in isolated communities, you have to have a decent income to operate and maintain those units. I think we have to be realistic
when we set these thresholds. Make sure that it is meeting the increases regardless if it is the price of fuel, the cost of maintaining and operating a home and have the ability to adjust those types of programs.
Every time the government needs a supp, they come forward because the price of fuel went up. They are looking at some reason that the cost to operate those units but we have to come forward. If any time the government justifies coming forward for a supp, needing more money for fuel increases, we should look at increasing the threshold for programs that the Housing Corporation delivers on the same argument. I think we have to develop programs with realistic numbers; numbers knowing that we have different costs associated with homeownership, the operational cost, the cost to maintain the homes in our smaller communities is very high and you do have to have a pretty reasonable income to maintain a home in a lot of our communities.
Again, I will leave that with the Minister. Maybe he can answer a couple of those questions, and then I have a few more after that. Thank you.