Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Minister, I’m glad he’s going to get back to me with information. I would like to ask the Minister if he would commit – although there are no plans at this point – to developing some plans to look into the issue of rent controls, and as I mentioned in my statement, find a solution other than rent controls if rent controls isn’t the way to go.

I’m always happy to sit down with the Member and committee to discuss their concerns and issues, and I’d be happy to discuss this in greater detail with the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. As the Minister well knows, the government crafts many different policies that help it achieve its goals. One of the stated goals of this government is to have viable and strong communities and regions, and as I’ve stated in my Member’s statement, there is a growing disparity amongst the regions in the Northwest Territories when it comes to their economic well-being.

One vehicle or tool which this government has at their disposal to assist with this would be greater access to funding, to loans by businesses in the regions. I would like to ask the Minister what is the current amount of money that the Business Development and Investment Corporation has at its disposal to lend within the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently, the total credit facility portfolio for the BDIC is just under $50 million at $49.6 million. Approximately $7.6 million approved in credit facilities and $257,000 approved in contributions for this past fiscal year.

The lending limit of the Business Development and Investment Corporation, I believe, is currently $2 million. When is the last time that that cap was reviewed and considered?

The timing of the Member’s questions is good. We’re currently putting together a terms of reference for review of the BDIC and the programs that are there. The hope is that those terms of reference will be established sometime this summer so that the review – and it’s being conducted by the program review office of the GNWT – will be underway this fall. I certainly look forward to working with the Regular Members as that program review plays itself out. Certainly, the limit on lending at $2 million is something that will be in the mix.

The Minister did give me the full amount of the lending portfolio, but how much room is there left that is not fully subscribed? I didn’t do the math. I didn’t write it down in time to do the math here. What avenue does the BDIC have to come back to the government to expand on the amount of money that they have to loan out to NWT businesses?

I don’t have that exact figure but I would be more than happy to get that for the Member.

Thank you. Final, short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would it be possible to include within the terms of reference of the review of the Business Development and Investment Corporation, the possibility of a policy that would recognize, as I referred to, the economic disparity which would look at the way that this government could help businesses in the regions at this current time who have viable business plans and proposals that could help them employ and expand on the employment they have within their communities?

We know that the Yellowknife economy is doing well. It’s healthy. What have we got that we could do for the regions by way of policy that could be included in those terms of reference?

That certainly would be a possibility, and I believe as the Minister responsible for economic development here in the Northwest Territories, it’s important that we’re not duplicating our efforts, that it’s seamless, that we’re getting capital into the hands of those folks who can do something with it, that can grow our economy, especially out in the regions where we are seeing high unemployment and we need those types of investments in the regions that will grow the economy here in the Northwest Territories. I certainly look forward to the discussions as the terms of reference are established and we get to work with the committee on next steps of that review.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my statement today I questioned the assistance to seniors housing and helping seniors that are currently in their own house and what is available. My question to the Minister of Housing is: What programs are currently available for seniors in their own home?

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We recognize that we do have a lot of seniors across the Northwest Territories that try to be very independent and live in their homes. Through Housing we try to support them as much as we can. We have repair programs for seniors. Within the other departments they have some programs within their departments that are geared towards assisting seniors, because seniors like to be independent by nature and the fact that a lot of them want to live in their own places, but living on

fixed incomes, with a lot of them, it is a bit of a struggle, so as the government we recognize that we need to do what we can to offer them some assistance to live in their unit. It’s still a work in progress, but I think for the most part, the government’s doing a very good job with assisting our seniors.

My question for the Minister of Housing is: What is Housing doing to alleviate some of the pressures for the seniors that are in their own house other than charging seniors rent, I guess?

Obviously, this government takes its role at trying to look after our seniors very seriously. That’s why a lot of seniors, for the last 16 years, that are living in public housing are not paying public housing rent, and a lot of seniors have sold their units to move into public housing because of that. We feel with the initiatives that we’re undertaking right now, it might keep more seniors in their own homes and free up public housing units for those that are really in need of public housing.

But as the Housing Corporation, I’ve relayed to the Member that we do have an emergency repair program that we are planning on rolling out. A lot of seniors have been able to access a lot of our repair programs where if they had to pay for it themselves, they’d be unable to do so and it would be a great burden to them. We have some of our programs that we roll out for the seniors, and again, government-wide there are many programs that offer some assistance to seniors.

My next question is: What kind of wait-lists are there in the Hay River area for senior housing currently?

If the Member is referring to a wait-list to get into public housing, I would have to get the information and relay it on to the Member. Obviously, a lot of our communities across the Northwest Territories have some waiting lists, but I will gather the specific information and relay it on to the Member for Hay River North. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.

I appreciate that information. Could the Minister be able to coordinate some of the information he provides to me that the government’s currently doing for seniors, along with coordinating with his other colleagues to give me the specifics on all that available for seniors in their own homes? Thank you.

I would be pleased to do that. I’ll have discussions with my counterparts and we’ll try to put all the information together with all the services that are provided to seniors. Because we are quite proud of the fact that, as a

government, we do assist our seniors very well. I will put the information together and pass it on to all Members. Thank you.