Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 20/99) - The Nunavut Government has budgeted almost $19.1 million this fiscal year for housing projects across the new territory, Finance Minister Kelvin Ng said in his first budget address earlier this year.

"The capital program for 1999-2000 incorporates projects where the contractual arrangements were in place by the GNWT. Also included are projects having legal or regulatory requirements, or involving health and safety concerns," Ng said in the budget address last spring.

Social housing projects and projects supported by federal contributions, insurance claims or other external funding sources were given priority.

Ng said using such criteria allowed the Nunavut Government to initiate a capital funding program in time for this year's construction season.

The $19.1 million is part of a total of $55 million budgeted in fiscal 1999-2000 for capital expenditures in Nunavut. Nunavut's first budget has total expenditures of $600.1 million.

In the delivery of the housing programs, the Nunavut Housing Corp. was formed under the Nunavut Housing Corporation Act.