Mr. Speaker, addressing housing needs is a priority of the 17th Legislative Assembly and the NWT Housing Corporation. This year is the first year of a multi-year plan that will see considerable investments in housing infrastructure that will have significant impacts on housing in our communities.
Overall, the NWT Housing Corporation expects to spend approximately $48 million on housing infrastructure during 2014-15 and, Mr. Speaker, today I wanted to provide an update on this work.
A significant aspect of our investment plan includes the new seniors facilities in the communities of Fort Good Hope, Fort Liard, Fort McPherson and Whati and the replacement of the Joe Greenland Centre in Aklavik. The work on the Joe Greenland Centre has started and we expect the tenders for construction of the facilities in Fort Liard and Fort McPherson to be out shortly for completion during 2014-15. Theother two communities will be completed next year.
The NWT Housing Corporation’s plan for 2014-15 also includes adding new public housing units in Jean Marie River, Wekweeti and Colville Lake. These new units will add important housing stock in communities that have been under-served by the Public Housing Program in the past.
Overall for our NWTHC units, the 2014-15 plan includes replacing or building 63 new public housing units and completing retrofits on 165 other units. Our three-year plan, which includes retrofits on close to 600 NWTHC units and over 100 new or replacement units, will build on the work planned for 2014-15. These investments are part the NWT Housing Corporation’s continuing effort to ensure that good quality public housing stock is available for our tenants.
Mr. Speaker as Members know, this government is also investing over $22 million during the next three years to add about 100 market rental units in NWT smaller communities to support devolution, decentralization and service delivery. A request for proposals was issued for 30 of these units that will be delivered in 2014-15. The plans for this year will see 12 of these units located in the Beaufort-Delta district, four in the Sahtu district, five in the Nahendeh district, four in the South Slave district and five in the North Slave district.
Finally, based on previous years, we expect to spend about $7.1 million to support about 325 eligible low and modest homeowners in 2014-15 with major and emergency repairs and preventative maintenance activities.
Mr. Speaker, the $48 million that the NWT Housing Corporation will invest in 2014-15 not only supports the GNWT’s overall mandate and priorities related to housing but it is also an important part of the economy. The NWT Housing Corporation counts on northern contractors and businesses to complete this work. The 2014-15 investment, when compared with planned capital spending of $26 million in 2013-14, means there are considerable opportunities within the housing sector for northern businesses. The NWT Housing Corporation looks forward to continuing to work with our contractors to ensure the successful delivery of our plan.
Mr. Speaker, ensuring the quality of the NWTHC housing stock and supporting low and modest homeowners to complete repairs on their homes are a critical part of the 17th Legislature’s vision and
goals and I look forward to continuing to work with Members on these initiatives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.