Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would like to start off today by saying that I am honoured to be wearing sustainably harvested sealskin earrings made by the incredibly talented NWT artist found on social media under Inuk 360.
Mr. Speaker, the North desperately needs more housing, so last week's announcement of a $57 million investment from the federal government was a welcomed one. The need for safe, affordable, and well-built housing has been the North's primary social challenge for decades and has consistently been identified by Assembly standing committees as a root issue at the core of our social challenges.
Today, governments have spent over 60 years trying, for one reason or another, to house Northerners. In the 1970s, the federal government handed much of the housing responsibility to the newly formed NWT Housing Corporation. In the 50 years since, we see policies and programming that operate largely the same as those created by the federal government years ago. Territorial home ownership programs help low-income families access mortgages and home repair programs. These programs were introduced decades after the federal government housing programs pushed home ownership through the matchbox home housing loan program and the Northern Rental Purchase Program where residents purchased old rental stock.
With variations of the same programming operating today, many of the same issues for homeowners still exist. In 2021, it is still not clear if current housing delivery and policy development is guided by the unique needs of the North or the federal government's perception of northern housing. We see evidence in the high number of new homeowners created by government home ownership programs who now deal with high mortgage arrears and houses that require thousands of dollars in repair.
Housing challenges identified through federally designed programs in the 1950s are the same we hear about today. There is little incentive towards home ownership due to actual perceived limited equity growth, limited resale options in smaller communities, high operating costs, and the need for community-based trades. Limited economic opportunities, seasonal employment, and high cost-of-living mean many rely on subsidized housing. Northern home ownership policies, like national policies, depend heavily on the principles of a wage-based economy with a private sector delivering and supporting housing options. Home ownership continues to be the Housing Corporation's best solution to northern housing challenges, Mr. Speaker, but there remains a need to address the long-standing gaps for community homeowners. I look forward to discussing home ownership solutions and the cost of community home ownership in the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
