This is page numbers 1187 – 1220 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was housing.

Topics

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to reiterate my strong opposition to the use of affordable housing for these units. These are market housing units, and they are designed to produce revenue for the GNWT as stated by the department. I disagree with the use of affordable housing on these item lines. I would encourage the department to re-evaluate its definitions.

I have another question, however. Recently, at the City of Yellowknife's Roadmap presentation, the Minister mentioned that Housing First models were being rolled out in other communities in the form of four-plex units. Are these contained anywhere on this list? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will address both of them actually. We will change the name from affordable housing for the RCMP. That is an easy fix. We won't do it in this, but we will do it moving forward. The second question was the units that are the four-plexes. They aren't in this business plan because actually they are in this current year's business plan. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Kieron Testart

Kieron Testart Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to the Minister for being sensitive to that concern. I look forward to these documents, when they are voted on, containing the correct terminology. I appreciate that the four-plex projects are now considered Housing First. I will look forward to reviewing that as well. Thank you.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Next I have Mr. McNeely.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Daniel McNeely

Daniel McNeely Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In the whole area of procurement and capitalization for these capital projects and moving forward here, does the department, as part of the capital process, look at joint land tenure with Department of Lands so it will be more identified prior to the new building coming in sort of thing? I guess my question is, is it a current process to have a land tenure workshop between Housing Corporation and the Department of Lands in all regions? Thank you.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. McNeely. Mr. Martin.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Martin

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The NWT Housing Corporation, as part of our annual capital planning process, does take into consideration land requirements for the next three years of actual capital delivery. So, as part of that process, we certainly work closely with the Department of Lands as well as municipalities and other interests to identify land availability. As part of that process, we can then more accurately plan our capital delivery for the three-year cycle that we follow, so, to answer the specific question, in terms of working with the Department of Lands, yes, we work very closely with the Department of Lands and would be open to continuing to participate in workshops. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Martin. Mr. McNeely.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Daniel McNeely

Daniel McNeely Sahtu

Yes, my last question related to land-tenure workshops: are these held on a scheduled basis in each region? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. McNeely. Mr. Martin.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Martin

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Our staff has participated in the past in workshops with the Department of Lands. To the best of my knowledge, these are not regularly held, but certainly, as we hear about these opportunities, we would certainly be participating. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Martin. Mr. McNeely.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Daniel McNeely

Daniel McNeely Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Chair. One more comment: I would urge the department as part of the capital planning process to have joint land-tenure workshops with the Departments of Lands and Housing. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. McNeely. Would the Minister like to respond?

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

Thank you. I take that as a comment.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Minister Cochrane. Next, I have Ms. Green.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I'm looking at page 70, and I see that the community of Gameti has one unit that will be retrofitted. I know that Gameti has one of the highest core needs in housing in the NWT, so I'm wondering what the relationship is between the core need and the allocation of retrofit dollars. Thank you.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister Cochrane.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Caroline Cochrane

Caroline Cochrane Range Lake

I'll let Mr. Martin answer the question.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Martin.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Martin

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, with regards to Gameti, just to step back for a moment, the NWT Housing Corporation in determining its capital allocations for 2017-2018 in this case did consider a number of variables, such as age and condition of our units. In particular here, with Gameti, the unit conditions right now are quite high, and, as a result of that, there was no need to invest additional dollars into our existing housing stock. That's reflective in our current allocations for 2017-2018. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Martin. Ms. Green.