Mr. Speaker, through you to my colleagues in the House, there is an underwriting on federal lands reserved for Indians. In October 1995 for instance, CMHC provided mortgage loan insurance to an operating company of the Yellowknife Dene band so it could access bank financing to build a 10-unit apartment building on federal land reserved for Indians. The apartments will be occupied by low income families and the operating costs of the project will be subsidized by the NWT Housing Corporation. That is a fact.
Many of those communities do not have access to those financial institutions. They are looking at innovative ways of getting housing for those people. There are 34 housing units that are needed in the north.
The south does not have the inclement weather and the harsh climate we have, nor the heating costs we have. Maybe they do in some of the northern parts of the provinces. Really, look at the opportunities these people have carved out for themselves to empower their people, to enable their people to become independent and self-sustaining. One of the first ways they look at is home ownership, by building that infrastructure and making it possible for people to own their own homes.
This year, as of September 30, going back to the community of Brooks, Alberta, 153 households became proud homeowners thanks again to the mortgage insurance funds. Make no mistake, if CMHC were not in the mortgage loan insurance business 290 families in Brooks, Alberta might not have been able to buy their homes. These 290 households represent 83 per cent of the total number of households, 349, that bought homes in Brooks, Alberta during that period.
The government knows how much Canadians value home ownership. Home ownership has always been valued at the community level. The first thing the settlers of this country did was build a home. Many were eventually able to get assistance from the banks and their communities to do joint projects to build homes. That is the way it was done and there was nothing wrong with that. Home ownership is much valued as the Canadian way. It is a source of retirement income for some. It is the one thing they may hang their hat on and feel security from. It is also an important component of quality of life.
We believe every Canadian should have access to home ownership. CMHC's mortgage loan insurance can turn the dream of owning a home into a reality. It is therefore critical that CMHC be able to continue to provide mortgage loan insurance to Canadians now and in the future. That is why I support Bill C-108. I hope my colleagues will see fit to give swift passage to the bill so that CMHC can continue to help Canadians realize their dream of owning a home.
There is an abundance of ideas out there, but many challenges befall Canadians who are isolated or in remote areas or who are not in the high income brackets and who face many fiscal challenges. Those people need help from various levels of government and organizations.
There are so many things that happen but when it comes right down to it we can talk in technical terms and be very abstract. We can talk about the whole fisc and all that but when it boils right down to it we are talking about the quality of life for people. The real meaningful essence of this is that people have access to homes, that they are able to own their own home and build a life for their
children and themselves; real security and in practical terms, stability.