Grandparents, seven children must wait until December while house is rebuilt

An Inukjuak family of nine has been homeless since last May, when a fire set by a teenaged family member seriously damaged their five-bedroom home.

The blaze forced Martha and Lucassie Echalook, who care for seven to nine grandchildren, to split up the family. Since losing their home, they've stayed with relatives, camped outside in a tent or slept in a tiny, borrowed cabin.

The Echalooks' plight reveals the continuing problem of deliberately set fires in the region and the devastating human impact of arson, particularly in light of Nunavik's severe housing shortage.

Although the loss of their home moved the Echalooks to the top of Inukjuak's long social housing list, there are no free social housing units available in the community, says the Kativik Municipal Housing Bureau.

This means the elder Echalooks, who are now both in their 60s, and the grandchildren – the youngest only seven years old – must wait until December when repairs on the fire-ravaged house are finished.

Meanwhile, Annie Aculiak and her husband, Pierre Jacques Aculiak, who live in British Columbia, have grown alarmed about her sister Martha and other family members back in Inukjuak.

Annie Aculiak, an artist noted for her traditional wall-hanging designs, lives with her husband, Pierre Jacques, in Sechelt, B.C. aboard a 1950s-era 16-foot cabin ­cruiser.

Since a tearful telephone call with her sister in mid-September, Aculiak has been increasingly anxious about her Inukjuak family. She and her husband decided they needed to help by gathering clothing and donations of hunting equipment for the family.

The Aculiaks say they have now many boxes filled with items donated by residents of B.C.'s Sunshine Coast. They would like to visit Inukjuak personally to make the delivery and provide moral support to the family, but they can't afford the long trip without outside assistance.

Air Inuit and Makivik Corp, which initially helped the Echalook family, have agreed to help the Aculiaks with the shipping of the donated items from B.C. to Inukjuak.

The Fédération des cooperatives du Nouveau-Québec also provided aid to the family in the aftermath of the May 15 fire, said Lucy Echalook, Martha Echalook's daughter, who works for the co-op store in Inukjuak.

For the moment, Echalook said her parents, Martha and Lucassie, a world-renowned soapstone carver, are "okay."

Her mother and three other family members live in a cabin no larger than a shed. The cabin has electricity, a plug-in space heater, but only a honey bucket for a toilet.

"They're warm, but we'll see. It's just starting to get cold here," Echalook said.

Echalook said she remembers how her mother watched in shock as her home went up in flames, burning nearly all their possessions. Afterwards, the community donated clothing and blankets to the family.

But Echalook said her parents are still finding it hard. A second fire destroyed most of her father's hunting equipment. This fire appears to have been set by vandals.

In an effort to cut losses due to fire and create more awareness about the dangers of fire, Nunavik's regional fire safety month is focusing on prevention. Local fire brigades observe a regional fire safety month, and, by the end of October, firefighters plan to visit every home in the region. They plan to check whether smoke alarms work and make sure residents know their community's fire emergency number, 9000.

KMHB general manager Watson Fournier said Nunavik's social housing stock suffered several fires in 2007, including the total loss of two duplexes in, one in Kangiqsujuaq and another in Puvirnituq.

Accidents or arson were responsible for recent fires in social housing units in all but one instance.

Replacing these units will cost more than $1 million, however, no new social housing construction was scheduled for Inukjuak and Puvirnituq communities for 2007, so this means the housing crunch will remain even more acute in these two communities until next year at the earliest.