Nunavut family outraged over black mould infestation

Joanna Oolateeta posted this photo on Facebook of black mould growing in her son’s home. (PHOTO COURTESY OF JOANNA OOLATEETA)

Igloolik’s Gwendolyen Siusangnark is concerned that a growing mould infestation in her home is causing health problems for her young children. (PHOTO COURTESY OF GWENDOLYN SIUSANGNARK)

The Nunavut Housing Corporation says mould in this public housing unit will be fixed after local housing authority staffers are trained in remediation measures in February. (PHOTO COURTESY OF JOANNA OOLATEETA)

An Igloolik family is asking the community’s local housing authority why a mould infestation in their home isn’t being fixed faster.

Joanna Oolateeta posted photos on Facebook earlier this week of black mould covering the door frame and creeping across the ceiling of the entrance to a public housing unit in the Baffin community of about 1,700.

Her son, Ruben Oolateeta, his common-law partner, Gwendolyn Siusangnark, and their six children, who are aged two through 10, live in the unit. The family has been living there since 2006, but has noticed the dark growth worsening since the fall of 2016.

Joanna, who is visiting the family from Pond Inlet, posted photos of the mould on Facebook because she said she wanted to see some action taken.

“It’s not proper that they be allowed to live in that place for so long,” she said. “The housing people know about it. I know they are working on other houses but at least they can have them moved somewhere where it is not so mouldy.”

Joanna said she is worried for the health of her young grandchildren.

“They are expecting a baby in July. I don’t want the baby to be living in that mouldy place when it is born,” she said.

Gwendolyn Siusangnark, who is currently in Iqaluit with her child while on medical travel, told Nunatsiaq News through an interpreter that she has been afraid to clean the mould like she used to do, because she is pregnant.

“She’s concerned about the mould for her kids’ safety,” Siusangnark’s sister-in-law Martha Oolateeta said.

The women said that the local housing authority had visited the home in the fall of 2017 to photograph the mould growth.

After her mother-in-law posted these recent images on social media, the housing authority visited to take more photos, Siusangnark said, adding that her family was told they are on a rush waiting-list to have their whole house renovated.

When contacted by Nunatsiaq News for comment on the issue in his riding, Premier Paul Quassa said that he had forwarded concerns to the Nunavut Housing Corp.

In a statement, the Nunavut Housing Corp. said that it recognizes mould is a “serious” issue in some of its public housing units. This includes units in Igloolik and the one occupied by the young family, the statement said.

“We have been actively taking steps to remediate and remove mould in our homes,” NHC spokesperson Arielle Stockdale said. “In early 2017, the NHC conducted a mould assessment of the most seriously affected units across the territory.”

She added that the images taken of the family’s unit in the fall are being used, along with photos taken in other units in Igloolik, to help develop a remediation strategy for the community.

“Photos were taken of the unit in the fall as part an assessment of all units in Igloolik done for the purposes of planning for remediation projects,” the NHC said.

Right now remediation work is ongoing in 35 units in six Nunavut communities, and staff members at local housing authorities in Nunavut are receiving remediation training, the statement said.

Staff at the Igloolik Housing Association will take part in mould remediation training in February.

“This unit will be one of the first to be addressed by staff, following the training,” the NHC said.

In Igloolik, five new public housing units were built in 2016 and 2017.

The housing corporation also says that it has hired consultants to analyze the root causes of mould in Nunavut public housing units.

“This will help to identify additional corrective action beyond remediation, and will help prevent mould in the future,” Stockdale said.

To limit mould growth in Nunavut public housing units, the NHC is asking tenants to:

• Report mould growth in their homes to their local housing offices as soon as possible.

• Leave on any installed heat recovery ventilators or air exchangers in their homes at all times to keep fresh air coming in.

• Use bathroom and kitchen fans to prevent condensation.

• Leave space between the walls and furniture or mattresses so that air has space to circulate.

The housing corporation also noted that overcrowding in Nunavut homes can increase the likelihood of mould growth.

“Nunavut’s housing crisis and the shortage of housing across the territory has caused severe overcrowding in many public housing units,” the NHC’s statement said. “Overcrowding can have many negative effects, including increasing the humidity and condensation in the home, which can lead to mould.”