Thompson pours cold water on MLAs’ housing plan

SEAN McKIBBON
Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT — Housing Minister Manitok Thompson says the emergency social housing plan that MLAs proposed to her last week won’t work without more money and more time.

“I can’t build houses right now. The season is shot,” Thompson said, responding to recommendations from the legislature’s standing committee on housing that the Nunavut government should order materials to build 75 new social housing units and begin site preparation right away.

Thompson also said there isn’t enough money in the Nunavut government’s budget to pay for such a proposal. She said that all available surpluses have already been put into health and education.

“I agree with the suggestions. We just need new money,” she said, adding that she and Premier Paul Okalik are trying to get the federal government to give the territory more money for social housing.

Thompson also took aim at a suggestion by the committee that the territory start handing out $40,000 grants to people who want to buy homes for the first time.

“We just killed MDAP (Minimum Down Payment Assistance Program),” she said.

The MDAP gave first-time home buyers $15,000 toward their house. This new plan, she said, would be even more expensive and wouldn’t address the needs of homeless people “What we have are people on social assistance looking for homes.”

Thompson said the handout wouldn’t be enough people who have no income buy houses. She said even if the program could help them do that, people would still need money to maintain their houses afterwards.

She also said that for first time home buyers with incomes, there is the Extended Down Payment Assistance Program (EDAP), which can provide home buyers with up to 70 per cent of the cost of a house.

Although it wasn’t in the standing committee’s written recommendations, the housing committee’s chairman, Arviat MLA Kevin O’Brien, said last week that the new $40,000 grant would be balanced off by scrapping the EDAP.

“Some people are using it (EDAP) to build mansions,” O’Brien said.

But the committee’s recommendation for a six-month rent freeze for seasonal workers deserves a closer look by the soon-to-be-formed housing task force, Thompson said.

“There needs to be a review of the whole rent scale,” she said.

Thompson said her recent comments on a CBC program about a possible flat rent scale were designed to get people thinking about ways to improve social housing.

She said that many people think that a rent scale that rises according to income is a disincentive to work.

As for the suggestion by the committee that her task force be composed of four MLAs and people from outside the legislature, Thompson said this is in line with her plans for the task force.

She said she’s pleased that members of the standing committee want to participate, and said that their wish not be paid honoraria shows they’re serious about saving money.