Mr. Speaker, many communities face challenges in providing programs and services to their people because lack of affordable housing makes it hard to recruit and retain staff.  Lowering the cost of living is one of the priorities of this Assembly and increasing the availability of safe, affordable housing is one of the key actions to advance that priority. 

Mr. Speaker, increasing the availability of safe, affordable housing and building stronger relationships with community governments and other stakeholders are two of the priorities agreed to by Members of the Legislative Assembly. 

AKLAVIK (September 24, 2015) – The Honourable Robert C. McLeod, Minister of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation (NWTHC), is pleased to announce the grand opening of the Joe Greenland Centre in Aklavik on September 14, the community’s new Seniors Independent Living Facility.

YELLOWKNIFE (July 31, 2015) – The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation (NWTHC) will exempt public housing tenants receiving the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) in the same manner recently announced for NWT residents on income assistance.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform Members about changes to how the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation calculates rent for public housing tenants.

Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to achieving this Legislative Assembly’s vision of strong individuals, families and communities. By working together in partnerships we can reach our goal of healthy and educated people in sustainable and vibrant communities throughout our territory.

YELLOWKNIFE (April 10, 2015) – Premier Bob McLeod today announced that Mr. Jeff Anderson has been appointed President of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation (NWTHC), effective May 11, 2015.

• Good afternoon. I am pleased to be here on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories as Minister Responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
• This extension of the Investment in Affordable Housing initiative further strengthens the long-standing partnership between the Northwest Territories, through the NWT Housing Corporation, and Canada, through CMHC.

OTTAWA, January 30, 2015– Together, the Governments of Canada and Northwest Territories announced an additional combined investment of more than $18 million over five years, through an extension to the Investment in Affordable Housing (IAH) agreement.

Mr. Speaker, later today I will be tabling information that provides a summary of housing results from the 2014 NWT Community Survey.

The NWT Community Survey is a household survey conducted by the NWT Bureau of Statistics every five years. While there is a variety of important information from the survey, most important to the NWT Housing Corporation is the measure of core housing need.

Core housing need tells us how many NWT households are having housing problems like affordability, overcrowding, or poor housing quality and not enough income to address these issues.