Dialogue about Inuit-specific housing funding underway, says Indigenous Services Minister

Inuit-Nunangat’s share of billions of dollars in federal housing and infrastructure funding announced in Thursday‘s budget remains undetermined, but that could change soon, Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty said Saturday in Iqaluit.

“I think that we’ll have greater clarity in the next few days,” Gull-Masty said during a news conference at the Inuusirvik Community Wellness Hub. It marked the start of a two-day visit to the territory, her first trip to the eastern Arctic. In addition to her role as Indigenous Services minister, Gull-Masty is the Liberal MP for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, the sprawling Quebec riding that includes Nunavik.

The Liberal government’s budget allocated $30 billion for First Nations housing and infrastructure as part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new commitment to eliminate homelessness within a decade.

But the budget did not mention comparable investments for Inuit communities.

However, discussions with Inuit organizations about how to fund housing and infrastructure in Inuit communities are ongoing, Gull-Masty said.

“It’s imperative that we take the time, that we take that space and really have that conversation to reflect the uniqueness of the North,” she said. “It’s important for us if we want to reach that target in the North that we shape it according to the realities of what it means to live here and deliver services.”

She met with representatives from Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the organization that represents Inuit beneficiaries under the Nunavut Agreement, on Saturday.

On Thursday, she met with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed, the head of the national organization for Inuit in Canada.

Gull-Masty said the dialogue about Inuit-specific funding for housing and infrastructure will continue later this year during a meeting of the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee, a bilateral forum that brings together Inuit leaders and federal cabinet ministers to advance shared priorities.

Nunavut MP Lori Idlout and Iqaluit Mayor Solomon Awa also met with Gull-Masty on Saturday.

Idlout said she is confident Nunavut will be included in Carney’s commitment to eliminate homelessness across Canada within a decade.

“What this government will need to do is make sure that it works respectfully with the Inuit organizations to ensure that Nunavut’s needs are being met,” Idlout said.

Awa shares Idlout’s optimism.

“It can be done if we work really hard,” he said.