This is page numbers 2439 - 2492 of the Hansard for the 19th 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

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. I wish to table had following document, "Husky Oil Exploration Licence No. EL494." Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Tabling of documents. Item 15, notice of motion. Colleagues, we will continue after a short recess.

---SHORT RECESS

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Welcome back, Members. Item 8, notices of motion. Item 9, motions. Member for Kam Lake.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. WHEREAS the 2019 NWT community survey found that over 42 percent of dwellings in the Northwest Territories had at least one housing problem, an increase of 10 percent since 2009;

AND WHEREAS housing problems can be issues of affordability, adequacy, or suitability;

AND WHEREAS this affects every community in the territory, including small communities, regional centres, and Yellowknife;

AND WHEREAS the administration of housing is not consistent between communities;

AND WHEREAS the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation mission statement is focused on housing stock, but is silent on the social program outcomes;

AND WHEREAS there has been no meaningful addition to the amount of public housing in the Northwest Territories;

AND WHEREAS housing plays an integral role in the well-being of residents and public housing needs to take an integrated view of the needs of its tenants as clients;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that this Legislative Assembly calls upon the Government of the Northwest Territories to prioritize the review of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation as part of the Government Renewal Initiative;

AND FURTHER, that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation update its mission statement and policies to reflect its role in social wellness;

AND FURTHERMORE, that Northwest Territories Housing Corporation must include referrals to appropriate government programs prior to beginning the eviction process;

AND FURTHERMORE, that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a comprehensive response to this motion within 120 days.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. To the motion. I will allow the Member to speak. Member for Kam Lake.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Mr. Speaker, laced throughout my Member's statements over the past year have been persistent concerns that housing is far more than a commodity. Housing is a human right recognized by the United Nations, both generally, in regard to sustainable development, and specifically, as it relates to Indigenous people, captured in the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Housing is a public good. It is the centre of thriving communities and the health and well-being of people and society regardless of ethnicity or income. The central role of housing in society is not only recognized by habitat in the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, but also in this House by this Assembly. Discussions of housing, its importance, and its place in community wellness unites the 19th Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, there is good reason for this centrality of housing. From an environmental perspective, we are on a collision course with climate change while more than 40 percent of the carbon footprint comes from buildings, mostly housing. To be honest, Mr. Speaker, the numbers are probably higher because of the energy intensity of insulation products, the long-distance transport of construction material, the cost of heating and diesel-fired electricity throughout the service life of a house, and the requirement of oil-fired vehicles to get to any public services in most of our communities. Community planning and housing design must be responsive to this rapidly changing environment if we want to protect the health of our planet.

From a social perspective, a safe, secure, and healthy home is essential to family life. It is the family that informs our lifestyle choices and decisions from the day we are born until the day we die. Our prosperity, if not our very survival, as people and communities depend on good choices, which will stand the test of global economy and allow our communities to provide viable housing options. Housing is not a commodity, like a house. Housing is a public good: a home. Accessibility to everything that dignifies humanity starts in the home. The home supports conversations with people we trust about things that matter to us. It keeps us healthy, and when we are sick, it gives us the best place to get well. Housing provides a passport to health, clean water, education, and our participation in governance and the economy.

From a governance perspective, the quality of our citizenship starts with housing. The basic ethic of a compassionate, caring society is one where no one gets left behind. Housing equity dignifies us, and from that place of dignity, we participate in decision-making in a social democracy, where personal interests give sway to the common good. In this Chamber, I have spoken about people whose return to their birth community has been frustrated by our housing program. I have spoken about vulnerable persons who have been evicted when they were prime candidates for integrated support systems. Housing programs failed to provide it. I have spoken to the fundamental relationships between housing and environmental, social, and economic well-being. I have spoken to systemic racism and its overpowering manifestation in homelessness.

There is good reason, Mr. Speaker, for the centrality of housing. There is no good reason, Mr. Speaker, that we are not providing it. Homelessness is the shadow side of homefulness, a term we rarely hear in housing discussions. Homefulness, as explained by Marilyn Hamilton, captures how access to the many levels of nested services fuels success. The flip side of homefulness is homelessness: society's punishment for people's inability to fit within the limited range of services connected through a bureaucratic system. The existing mission statement of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation speaks to acquiring, building, and maintaining housing stock, but remains silent on its role in the social wellness of Northerners. There is no strategic plan to increase housing stock in the Northwest Territories, and there is no policy structure to either change how this government provides housing or supports housing partnerships.

Mr. Speaker, what we are looking for through this motion is a housing program that is people-centred and built around the wellness of Northerners. To be consistent and forward-looking, it must be underpinned by a comprehensive policy, flexible action plan, prudent investment strategy, and set of performance measures that capture the values of care and compassion for people, planet, and prosperity. The housing program must be built in partnership by all its stakeholders bound by a common purpose.

The attempt to achieve housing as a public good won't be perfect. In fact, progress depends on us learning continuously as we innovate and keep at it, but that means we need to be prepared to try new things and step outside of the cyclical history of housing the NWT. The 2019 NWT community survey found that over 42 percent of NWT dwellings had at least one housing problem. This represents a 10 percent increase from a decade earlier and tells us that our cycle is not serving us. Excellence in housing is a process, not a final destination. Just like we renovate our houses to suit our changing world, we will renovate our housing program, but we must start now to ensure that it choreographs all of the interrelated issues and brings together and all of government approach to achieve success. Housing is embedded in our community life and housing is not a silo. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. We'll allow the seconder, and then we will open it up to everyone. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Housing is a basic need for all. Many people in every community of our territory are living in housing that is below standards. Many lack housing altogether. Indigenous people are at higher rate than anyone else in this territory who are struggling with homelessness. How do we expect our residents to overcome any issues we raise in this House like mental health, addictions, low levels of education, graduation rates, poor health outcomes, high numbers of our Indigenous males incarcerated, high rates of family violence? If no one has a home, we will never overcome these. If I could go back to the first week of this Legislative Assembly when we were coming up with our priorities, I would have said one: housing. Housing to ensure that every resident has a place to live that meets their needs and their circumstances that they are living with. With that, Mr. Speaker, I fully support this motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. We will now open it up for discussion. To the motion. Government House Leader.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier, we heard the Premier and the housing Minister speak passionately about housing, and I'm sure that most, if not all, Members of Cabinet are on the record expressing similar sentiments. This government understands the importance of ensuring our residents, and especially our most vulnerable residents, have access to appropriate housing, and we're committed to a whole-of-government approach, an integrated whole-of-government approach, to delivering services. That said, in our system of government, it is convention that Cabinet abstain from motions that make recommendations to Cabinet, so we will be abstaining. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Government House Leader. To the motion. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the mover and the seconder for the work that they've done to bring forward the motion. Housing has always been a priority for me in the last Assembly and this one. I just want to talk a little bit about what happened in the last Assembly without reliving it all. Certainly, the last Cabinet, I just never had the feeling that housing was a top priority for them. Whenever they went to Ottawa it was about roads. Housing just was never really the highest priority, and I think that was demonstrated when the National Housing Strategy was announced the allocations amongst jurisdictions. Nunavut, I think even the Yukon, got more money than we did because we didn't have a case put together; we didn't make the case in Ottawa. I think that has changed with this Cabinet. That's my suspicion, but I think I've seen some of that work. We just have to have the case ready. We have to have the ask ready to go to Ottawa and make that the priority when we go to Ottawa. It's not about, sorry, big infrastructure projects; it's about housing. That's what our government needs to focus on. I want to thank the mover and the seconder again, and I support this motion. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. To the motion. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the mover and the seconder for this motion, as well. Lots of work went into this. When I was thinking about everything that was being said, I thought about all the conversations each and every one of us had yesterday, when we did our door-to-door and our campaigning; the majority of the concerns were about housing. I've sat in those living rooms where it was worried parents that worried about the maintenance of a house, worried they might lose their house. Even talking to some people out in public, they don't have a home. Just heart-wrenching issues that we have to deal with and listen to and hear. I think, with this motion, it shows that we are doing some real work as a whole. I'm hoping that we can get through this productively and work with each other. It's all about synergy and working cooperatively with each other. Partnerships are huge and not just in here, outside with Indigenous governments, with municipalities, with hamlets. This issue is not just in this Chamber, it's outside of this Chamber. We all have to work with each other. I'm hoping that we can move in a good, positive way here. With that, I would like to say I support this motion. Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. To the motion. Member for Nunakput.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to thank the mover and seconder on the motion in regard to housing. My communities in Nunakput, we're really short units for young families who are coming up across the Delta. The houses that we have that were built in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s that retrofits need to be done. I think something that working together with our government to get this done finally. We have people living in makeshift shacks because they've been evicted, waiting for housing. There are no houses available, market housing is not available in our communities. I think this is a step forward and working together to get the housing situation under control in the Beaufort-Delta and across the territory. I will be supporting the motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. To the motion. Member for Hay River South.

Rocky Simpson

Rocky Simpson Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like I said earlier, housing is very important to people in the Northwest Territories, especially those who don't have it and they have nowhere to turn. It's important that we listen to them and listen to the solutions that they provide. I go into the communities, and the other day, I heard someone say, "Even if I had a tent frame, I'd be happy." Those are the type of things that people are looking for. They're just looking for something that they can call their own so that they can get the rest they need and to hopefully advance their life and make their family lives better as well. What we need from this government is action. I've watched this government over the years, and we give a lot of lip service. It's not just the government; it's people out there, as well. We all have to participate whether we're in government or not. People want to see action.

We talk about fixing houses up and that, but at the end of the day, we need more units. That's all there is to it. However we get them, I don't really care. Whether we in Hay River, if we get the high rise going, there is 122 units. If the Minister is able to get the units from the federal government, there is probably another dozen there. It will help people out. To give people a chance at life, to give children a chance at life, we have to stop the BS and actually get out there and work to make things happen. We don't need a whole bunch more studies, we've got enough. I was going through the things today. You look at 2016, there is one. You look back earlier, and it just goes on and on. It is the same stuff, the numbers change a little bit, and that's it. I support this motion, and I am really pleased with the Cabinet Members and Members on this side. I think we all realize that housing is a priority, and if we can do something with housing, it will really impact the people of the Northwest Territories lives in a positive way. That's all. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. To the motion. Member for Great Slave.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Housing is an issue not only in the North, but across Canada. If there is one thing that my career and my time in engineering in the North has taught me is that we are already even further behind the eight ball than when compared to southern Canada due to the lack of northern understanding of cold climate engineering. I, too, support this motion. I thank my colleagues for bringing it forward. Before taking on this job, housing was not something I thought a lot about, except for the fact that one of my proudest moments was the acquisition of my own home, and it proves to be my sanctuary and my place of refuge and safety. As I said in my statement, until you have that, you can't combat a lot of the issues you may be facing. To me, I really support housing. I also still support large infrastructure projects and roads, and I think we can do them all. I commit to working with my colleagues on getting this done. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. To the motion. Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This motion specifically asks for a mandate review and a structural review of the Housing Corporation because, in all honesty, not much has changed since we took over a lot of the housing from CMHC. I don't think this is to blame the staff at the Housing Corporation. The reality is they are underfunded, and I think we need to step back, look at our entire budget, and find more ways to invest in housing because it ultimately saves us money. When I look at the Health and Social Services budget and I see that it is $596 million and I look at the Housing Corporation budget and I see that it is $118 million, I think something is out of whack.

Mr. Speaker, this happens because many other departments, as the needs have increased, their budgets have increased, but the Housing Corporation, for whatever reason, lack of political will, their budget has largely stagnated, the number of public housing units they have on the ground has stagnated. As such, every single year our housing crisis has gotten worse. This is going to take a serious review of that mandate to make sure that that housing stock is maintained and increased, and it is going to take a structural review such that we don't find ourselves with consecutive budget after budget where the Housing Corporation is left as a last resort, as opposed to the needs of other departments. I believe that this Cabinet and this Minister are committed to doing that work, I believe that Regular MLAs are committed to doing this work, but there is clearly a structural problem when, after decades, we have not added new housing units. In fact, every single year, the Housing Corporation and the housing crisis worsens in this territory, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. To the motion. Member for Kam Lake.

Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank my colleagues for their support of this motion today. I really appreciate it. I know that it's something that we discuss a lot together and that we discuss with compassion and also with passion, and so I really appreciate the time the Members have invested in the collaborative conversations that we have. Mr. Speaker, I would like to request a recorded vote today. Thank you.