Thank you. Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. Mahsi for that. Regarding, you know, having a hard time getting the hours to meet their apprenticeship, you know, hours per year, that's not a problem when you have someone on staff that recognizes journeymen. You're on staff and you're on pay. So your hours are covered automatically too for the whole year. Because even I as just a housing maintainer, I was able to collect all my hours when I worked there when I was going to go challenge the OBM course but someone didn't allow me into the course for I don't know what reason. But anyways, the hours are not a problem to get. You can get that. And I know through preventative maintenance that when you go to service a furnace, there's four hours per furnace roughly. That's what it is, in the preventative maintenance check. In order to do a proper job on a yearly basis, you have to put in those hours because it's pretty detailed when you have to blow out the dust from all the squirrel cages and everything else. And then changing nozzles, and then you have to go back into getting the furnace to run smoothly again, which is a bit challenging. There is, you know, ample opportunities.

I always said in the Housing Corporation, you got opportunities galore to do whatever you want because you're doing flooring, you're doing basic electrical. You know, you're doing quite a bit - painting, everything. It was, you know, it was a love of my life at that time when I did maintenance, and I did it proudly, you know, and I don't see that now because I see, you know, fascia and eavestrough, everything, hanging and I'm just scratching my head saying what is going on here. You know, when I was working, that would never happen, you know, that wouldn't be allowed to happen. But anyways, so the hours are there for sure, and I'm glad that you will be looking at it but I really encourage you to really put some money to it and get these positions into communities, being mindful of the size of the appliances that we're working with. And it might be going against the water and gas inspectors. I don't know how come they -- I'm not saying much on that anyways.

I'm just wondering about the page 377, your heating fuel. I think you already know where this is leading. I know you probably get tired of me and my little wood pellet boiler stuff. But I'm going to tell you something here, you know, and I've said it before to the Minister numerous times, the wood pellet boiler system, because I was a project officer in Hay River, and we had a system put into Fort Providence Deh Gah School. And when I asked the fuel delivery guy after we had it installed I says, how much fuel are you actually pumping to the school now? He said well, prior to that, we were almost 3000 litres a month. Now, you know, we'd be happy if we even get 500 litres, he says, because the fuel system is acting as a backup now and the wood pellet boiler system is running as the main source right now. It's the peak season when it's really cold in the winter, then you have both systems going. But the majority of the time, wood pellet boiler is running all the time. So, you know, and that's why I speak about it, and you got, you know, 2600 units across the Northwest Territories and that's eating up $9 million, you know. Maybe the challenge to the corporation is let's see how we can reduce that amount and start looking at central systems in all the small communities. I would be more than glad to, you know, be the pilot project, you know, to put clusters of houses to one system, put another cluster of houses in the community, have four or five central heating systems if need be. But I would really, really encourage the corporation to give it a shot. Mahsi.

Thank you. Member for NWT Housing Corp -- or Minister for NWT Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the Member for that. And I don't mind you bringing this up continuously; that's fine. And this is where we work with the Members and looking for improvements for the Housing Corporation and looking at different ways of doing things and looking at cost savings as well.

With this, I'm not too familiar with the supply. Like, I -- just commenting on Nunakput as an example, Sahtu as an example, that these are communities that are not on the highway. So looking at what supply would be offered to those regions and also the expertise on what type of training that these people would need. But looking further south into the Deh Cho, Nahendeh, and the Yellowknife North Slave area and whatever, that this possibly can be something that we could look into further. We've already had the biomass -- biomass, and there was two of them. My mind just went blank. But there was two energy savings initiatives that we did -- we did enter into throughout the territory. So I'll just take that as a comment I guess and I -- and looking at our future builds with the co-investment fund that the communities can access.

This is something that I will highlight to them as well too, and I would like to possibly work with Arctic Energy Alliance as well in looking at the possibilities of how we could work in conjunction, and they are the experts when it comes to energy savings. So I appreciate that comment.

The other thing I just wanted to just respond as well too, for the tracking system, yesterday vice-president Jim Martin had confirmed that we have 21 journey certified workers, I guess, and then we had -- we presently have 33 work assignments through the tendering of the 90-unit delivery. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Member for Monfwi.

Okay, thank you. I am aware and I'm -- you know, I've been talking to a lot of people, to a lot of my community -- my constituents as well. So there are a lot of people that I know want to be homeowners. And some do not want to be living in a public unit, you know, but they have no choice. So I know that there's lot of aging homes. So and even, you know, one of the housing -- or housing goal is promoting homeownership program as well.

So I see -- I saw one of your policy that was on the social media, and I don't think that one will work in really small communities because in there, in one of your policy -- in the policy, it states that do you have enough income to pay for operating and maintenance expense, because this will not work for many small communities where many small -- like as, you know, the 2019 Health Chart Report that was published by the Government of the Northwest Territories, it already said it in there there is not enough jobs in the small communities; there's -- the income for family is low. So how do -- like, it's not going to work for many of the community members. So is there any way that you can change the policy, make it more friendly for others in the communities where there's lack of resources, jobs, the family income is low? Is there any way that we can change the policy to accommodate the people in the small communities? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And just to respond to the question, I appreciate this as well too because I kind of -- you know, I come from a smaller community as well too, and I see the need for homeownership. I see where the comments have been coming forward as well and looking at our renewal, this is exactly what's going to drive the change for the Housing Corporation and the opportunity to change those policies, where they're going to work at the smaller community level. And, you know, one of the comments that I did get throughout the Northwest Territories is, you know, just sign over the home to us and let us operate and maintain it.

But we need to make sure that they're able to afford those units as well too. And I don't want the policies to be barriers. I want it to be opportunities on how do we work with our clients. So thank you for that comment, and it's a policy review that we are doing and I will take that back when we're -- when we get to that review of the homeownership. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Member for Monfwi.

Well, it would be nice, yes. Yes, I hope that change will happen in that review.

Another one too is that I know there's lot of people that are living in market rental and the public unit, some of them want to become homeowners. Some of them are still paying max rent. And I think some of them probably pay over $500,000 for a unit because -- and what is the housing doing helping these families that have lived in the unit for 20 or more years? Are you guys reaching out to those families, to those people that maybe they want to, you know, transfer the ownership of the house to them for, like, a dollar? Is there anything happening that, you know, promoting that to the community members? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister for NWT Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and I'm just -- I'm loving this conversation to be honest because, you know, this is something that I've worked with the department for as well too that, you know, like I said, I come from a smaller community. I've been amongst my residents as well too where they've lived in these generational homes and they've raised their family and they've got grandchildren.

So what the corporation has done is they've sent out letters to all of the Housing Corporation tenants and seeking if they're wanting to go ahead and looking at a possible transfer where we could be looking at them becoming homeowners of those units, but also considering a formula that I want to bring forward to the corporation and how do we transfer these units. If they've been occupying the units for 20 years, 10 years, 15 years, what are we going to develop, what does that -- what is this going to look like. So that is coming forward to the territory as well. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Member for Monfwi.

It's good that, you know, we're on the same page because we're both from the small communities. Yes, I think that's going to be good. But are you -- is the Housing Corporation going to assess the value based on what it's worth, not -- or is it going to be based on -- or what it was worth and then based on market value? And because like I said yesterday in one of my Member's statement, is it fair to sell a house to someone with -- that doesn't have running water or the flush -- or the toilet don't flush, or they don't have anything in that unit? So I just wanted to know how is it going to be based on? Are you going be -- is it going to be based on assessed value or market value when you going to be approaching the people who have been living in those units for over 20 years.

Thank you. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have been working with the department, and I want the approach to be a whole assessment but taking into consideration the years that the individual has occupied -- has occupied the unit and obviously the condition rating as well too.

But the other thing that we're also speaking of is once we transfer the unit, what type of funding, would those public housing homeowners-to-be, would they be entitled to? And that's a number that we're putting out there. And this is nothing that has been committed, but I've been looking at to transfer these units in a fair, right condition. So that's an additional amount of money that would be put towards the homeownership program. But we don't have those further details but as we go forward, we will have an opportunity to review those. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Member for Monfwi.

Thank you. Yes, thank you. I have three minutes left, and I'm watching my time.

Okay, because it's just that since I said that there's not enough jobs and, you know, like, we know that lot of them are income -- you know, like, the -- it's just -- well, according to the report, I'm just speaking from the report too as well, you know, and so that's why so -- so, because already in many of the small communities, income support is already paying, you know, Housing Corporation for some rent. I'm just wondering in this situation, is it possible for those who are under your program, under mortgage program, can the income support program pay for the mortgage in the small communities where there's lack of jobs, employment opportunities in the small communities? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister responsible for NWT Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Madam Chair. You know, the public housing program is a low income program that is available to low income earners to house them. So as the same with income support is to, you know, provide income where there -- we see hardship as well too, at a -- for a temporary amount of time.

So I need to bring this back to my department as well because I don't -- because getting into homeownership is where the client can actually afford and be stable in those units as well too. I don't want to create any hardship or any -- and address the real issue that is going on there. If they are income support, there may be struggles for them to operate and maintain their own home if they're having to be supported by government services. So I would have to bring this back, and I just -- and really look at our -- what is expected out of our homeownership programming. But it's not for government support to be paying mortgages on the individuals' behalf. We need to make -- making sure that there's stability and there's affordability from those clients to operate and maintain these houses. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Member for Monfwi.

I think maybe the Housing Corporation should do is that review the access program, housing access program from 20 years ago, because I think in there there was income support were paying the expense and were also paying the rent as well, or mortgage to the Housing Corporation. So there was -- you know, I mean it was done before. So I just need to -- it would be nice if the Housing Corporation can review, you know, the previous policies. Thank you.

Thank you. Any follow up comment, Member for -- Minister, sorry -- Minister of NWT Housing Corporation?