Families fear city may move their homes during redevelopment

DENISE RIDEOUT

Thirteen families living in social housing units in Iqaluit’s downtown core fear their homes will be moved to another part of town to make way for apartment buildings, offices and stores.

Their fear stems from the city’s proposal, contained in its draft general plan, to redevelop the “600 block,” the road behind Grinnell Place and the Bank of Montreal, where the 13 houses are located.

But the Iqaluit Housing Authority, who owns the houses, says the tenants shouldn’t panic. “No one should worry,” Susan Spring, manager of the Iqaluit Housing Authority, said in an interview.

“Anybody who has a contract with the housing authority, like has a lease with us, then we will maintain their housing.”

However, she admitted the housing authority’s board of directors and the City of Iqaluit have had very preliminary discussions about redeveloping the area. No decision about moving the 600-block houses has been made, she said.

Still, with such a major shortage of houses, it makes sense to look at redeveloping the area to accommodate more people, she said.

The 600 block consists of single-family units, but putting up duplexes or row housing could house many more people.

“While we respect the needs of the individuals, the 600 area is 13 families. There are 430 other families too [in social housing]. And there are 75 people on the waiting list and there are a whole other bunch of people who need housing as well. So we’re trying to find the best path for all concerned,” Spring said.

The social development department of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. first alerted the families, who are all Inuit, to the plan.

Kowesa Etitiq of NTI reviewed the general plan and went door-to-door to the 13 families, telling them their homes might be relocated.

“They were shocked the city was even considering this. And some were quite mad,” Etitiq said.

Etitiq then wrote a letter to city council urging it to reconsider the redevelopment.

“The majority of these residents are low-income residents of Iqaluit and have no cars or 4x4s. Moving them would create undue hardship as they would have to walk much longer distances in cold weather or have to pay for taxis to reach services,” he wrote.

So when city council hosted a public meeting Oct. 8 to outline its plans for future development, most of the social housing tenants came out to voice their concerns.

Inuapik Sagiatook, who has lived in the 600-block for more than 20 years, was dead-set against moving. “As elders, we usually want to be near the shoreline. We don’t want to be moved up the land,” she told the group of Inuit gathered at the meeting.

Outspoken resident Saila Kipanik jumped in to support the 600-block tenants.

“These houses have been here since the start,” he said in Inuktitut.

Even Keith Irving, a city councillor who heads council’s planning committee, took on the tenants’ concerns.

Irving said low-income families benefit from living downtown because they can walk to stores, banks and other services.

“We can’t be moving elders to the Road to Nowhere. They can’t afford taxis. How will they get to the store?” he said. “It puts some pressure on the have-nots in the community.”

But all of this is just an idea and it could take years before any plan is made about the future of the 600-block, Spring said.

“Everybody is looking out for the best interest of our tenants, as well as the long-term growth, needs and demands.”