Northwest Territories. NWT Housing Corporation (1972-present)

The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation (NWTHC) was created in response to a 1972 report from a Northwest Territories Council Task Force on Housing. One of the recommendations in the report called for the creation of a housing corporation similar to the federal Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) that would assume responsibility for all government-housing programs in the Northwest Territories. The Northwest Territories Council approved the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation Ordinance on October 10, 1972. Roy S. McClure was appointed as Advisor to the Corporation and preparations for the establishment of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation were initiated. The Territorial Housing Division of the Department of Local Government was subsequently dissolved and its personnel transferred to the new Corporation. Operations commenced on September 1, 1973, although the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation did not officially operate as a Crown Corporation of the Government of the Northwest Territories until Oct. 1, 1974.

The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation is responsible for ensuring that an adequate supply and standard of housing is available to residents of the Northwest Territories. It provides financial assistance for the purchase, rental and construction of housing units through public housing projects, small settlement home assistance grants, rural and remote housing programs and non-profit and co-operative housing and mortgage programs. The Corporation provides support to local housing associations and authorities and encourages home ownership in the Northwest Territories. Between 1973-1983, it delivered the following programs: the Northern Rental Housing Program on behalf of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, which provided housing for aboriginal peoples; the Senior Citizens Housing program which aimed to provide adequate accommodation at adequate rates for seniors and the Public Housing program.

In 1982, the NWT Housing Corporation became independent from the Department of the Executive. Devolution of responsibility to community housing associations became one of their main objectives, as did training local people in property management operations within the communities.

The NWT Housing Corporation was reorganized in 1983; a Finance and Administration Division carried out the administration and planning of all financial matters relating to housing programs. The Property and Contract Management Division was accountable for the management, coordination and control of the Corporation's construction, preventative maintenance and property management systems. The Program, Planning and Research Division was responsible for the planning of new housing programs and the development and evaluation of policies and procedures. The Rental Housing Program was the central focus in 1984-85. It was aimed at families and individuals where alternative affordable housing was unavailable and provided support programs to encourage increased homeownership levels within the Northwest Territories. The Homeownership Assistance Program was developed to recognize this priority.

In 1986-87, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation was made up of the Executive, Programs and Planning (Policy and Planning, Homeownership Programs and Rental Housing Programs), Finance and Administration, (Personnel and Administration section and Finance and Materials Management section) Construction/Development and District Operations. The Finance and Administration Division was responsible for the preparation and implementation of an Affirmative Action Plan to ensure the participation of aboriginal northerners in the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. District Operations provided direct support to communities in the delivery of the Corporation's Rental and Homeownership Programs. Specific training initiatives in the areas of Administration, Finance and Technical assistance were delivered through this activity to help community organizations operate efficiently.

Between 1987-88, the Housing Corporation was reorganized to include a Human Resources Program to ensure the affirmative action initiatives would be met and provide assistance to local housing organizations in the area of human resource management and development. The Finance and Administration Division was renamed Finance and Corporate Services at this time; its role expanded to provide financial management and accounting of the NWT Housing Corporation's financial and material resources.

The Programs and Planning Division became the Community and Programs Services Division between 1988-89. Its functions remained the same and central task was to monitor the operation of all Corporation programs and to ensure effective delivery in terms of government policy and direction. In the early 1990's, there was an urgent need to meet housing requirements for the growing population at both ends of the demographic scale. Consequently, the Policy and Evaluation Division was introduced in 1989-90. Its primary function was to draft the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation Policy that would clarify the responsibilities of the Housing Corporation in meeting housing needs of Northwest Territories residents.

Two new program initiatives were introduced during 1991-92. The Access Program offered homeownership counseling, a home buy-back guarantee, supplementary financing and the sale of Homeownership Assistance Program units. The Rent Rebate Program enabled high income, public housing tenants to be reimbursed for a portion of rent payments made while completing or awaiting the delivery of their new homes.

Between 1992-1994, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation reorganized in order to deal with the removal of funding by the Federal Government through the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Due to the funding cutbacks, the department focused on social housing for those most in need and homeownership was given a higher priority. The responsibility for GNWT housing was also transferred from the Department of Public Works and Services to the NWT Housing Corporation during this time. Because the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation was taking on more responsibility, but had fewer financial resources, the Community Development Division was established to facilitate the transfer of greater levels of authority and accountability to housing programs in communities. The Amortization budget was also introduced to provide for payment of principal and interest on loans from Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The Local Housing Organizations Division was created and became responsible for the delivery and management of the Housing Corporation's rental housing programs at this time.

In 1996-97, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation was downsized and restructured in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The goal was to make programs more community-development based, maximize the number of new homes built each year, reduce per unit costs of new homes and reduce utility costs in public housing. The Policy and Planning Division and Human Resources Division were joined to form the Policy and Human Resources Planning Division; however, these two functions became separate divisions again in 1998. The Operations Division (Operations West, Operations East) was created at this time and became responsible for developing and carrying out programs and technical support, training and assistance in the course of enabling community groups to deliver all housing programs at the local level.

The Controllership Division was created in 1997-98. This division became accountable for the loan and mortgages administration, debt payments and banking services, preparation of annual financial statements for the Housing Corporation and Amortization. This division was renamed the Finance Division in 1999-2000 and Amortization Activity was moved from the Finance Division to its own division between 1998-1999. This activity provided funding for repayment and interest on long-term loans from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Human Resources and Administration and Policy became two separate divisions in 1998 with the Policy Division being responsible for the development of Corporate policy and strategic planning, as well as representing the Housing Corporation on inter-departmental committees participating in GNWT initiatives. The Human Resources and Administration Division provided human resource advice and assistance to Local Housing Organizations through District Offices. Some of the activities of this section included recruitment and transfer of staff, classification of positions, labour relations advice, administration of employee pay and benefits, Human Resource Planning and employee assistance. This section was also responsible for records management for the Corporation, telecommunications and maintaining the Corporation's computer systems and services.

Between 2000-2001, the department underwent some minor organizational changes. The Policy Division was renamed Policy, Programs and Informatics to reflect the added responsibility for the Corporation's computer systems and services, as well as the development of new housing programs and provision of support, direction and training to the Local Housing Organizations. The Administration function from Human Resources and Administration Division was also transferred to the Finance Division at this time. The division was renamed the Finance and Administration Division.