Thank you, Mr. Stewart. Mr. Hawkins.

We would not be in a position to reallocate that allocation?

Has the Minister come to the Legislature to ask for additional money to repair those eight units to ensure we would increase the housing stock in that

community with more than 10 percent by adding those…for those 12 individuals or families waiting to get housing?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We’ve been waiting, as I said before, to sell those units and they can repair those units. I think that was the original ask when those units became available. I think even they saw that it was going to be quite costly to renovate those units. Again, I committed to providing the actual numbers to the Members. Thank you.

Thank you. I do thank the Minister and certainly the corporation for supplying that information in advance of receiving it. How long is the waiting list in that community? Once you’re on it, what is the average waiting time?

We have 12 on the waiting list. As for the length of time, we don’t have that information. We will contact the local housing authority and let them know there was a concern raised with the length of time with the waiting list and how long is the average time on the waiting list. Thank you.

In a perfect world the Housing Corporation decides to get away from this particular unit that has eight units, we sell it for whatever dollar amount, I have yet to find the value or balance. We sell it which means the money goes into the GNWT coffers. Somebody now becomes the owner and someone decides they want to be in the rental business in the Northwest Territories in this community. I don’t want to ask a hypothetical question because we’d be ruled out of order, but I see it as a huge opening that someone would be coming to us asking for money and assistance in order to create a business opportunity in this community. Would this be giving them their money back to repair it? What type of program opportunities will happen in this community that will either deal with this or avoid this situation? I’m sure the Minister sees what I’m saying. If we sell it to someone, we get the money for it and we just give them back the money to repair it, so they can rent it and we rent from them. We’re just finding a method to move wealth around, so the government not only pays, but we pay double. Can this conceivably be the situation or does the department have a plan and this isn’t the case?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. You did ask a hypothetical question as can it conceivably happen. Can you be more specific in your question, please? Thank you.

Yeah, I know. It’s a tough one. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Does the Housing Corporation have a program that will pay for repairs of a particular multiplex unit such as this eight-plex unit that a person could apply for? That is not a hypothetical question. That’s a real question.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister McLeod.

Mr. Chair, if someone came forward and said they wanted to buy the unit, then we would sell it to them. We also have a program we have been offering the last number of years now called the…It’s got a long title, but we give them $50,000, $25,000…it just went down as I was speaking. We give them $25,000 a door and it’s a program that we’ve offered for a while. It’s more designed for those who want

to rent to professionals in the community. We’ve had some good uptake in a number of communities. I can provide a list to the Member of communities that have taken us up on this offer. We saw that as a way to try and assist with development in the community where they bought a unit and they needed some assistance in renovating the unit and we were able to provide some assistance. They, in turn, would become the landlord. They would rent it to individuals in town, professionals. If they rented, they would not rent it back to us. We wouldn’t rent it off them unless there was some type of program that was offered for that. There is a program that exists and we have helped out a number of communities and we will provide the list. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Committee, we are on page 393, NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Hawkins.

I’m not going to need 10 minutes. I just want to make a point, which is $25,000 a door could be $200,000. I would just see the government sell the unit and then pay for its full repairs and then rent it back in some form or fashion. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure I said that, eight doors times $25,000, $200,000. Who knows what they are going to sell it for or buy it back or pay? I would just hate to see that situation. I would rather just pay to fix the darn thing, house and families, and make sure they are up on their own and find a way to pay for it. Come to the Legislature. I would support money to go into the community for a resolution if it got more people in secure, safe housing. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. I didn’t hear a question there. I will take that as a comment. Committee, we are on page 393, Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, financial summary information, information item. Any questions?

Thank you, committee. We’ll defer page 395 to the end. Page 396, active position summary, information item. Any questions?

Page 399, community housing services, operations expenditure summary, any questions?

Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can I ask the Minister for a breakdown of utilities? Is this the total cost that we give to the Housing Corporation or that’s what they collect? Is $26 million what you’ve been talking about?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Stewart.