Humour eases tensions in housing debate

ODILE NELSON

After an hour of debate, Kangirsuk, Inukjuak and Kuujjuaq emerged as the big winners in this year’s regional social housing “lottery.”

Every year since Nunavik entered into a social housing agreement with the federal and Quebec governments in 2000, Kativik Regional Government councillors have had to divvy up a limited number of housing units between Nunavik’s 14 communities.

Debates have previously been intense and decisions difficult given the region-wide social housing shortage.

And, because the agreement is up for renegotiation, this year’s debate could have been even more heated than in former years — especially considering only 12 duplexes or 24 two-bedroom units are allocated for 2004.

But at the regional council meeting held in Kuujjuaq last week, councillors did their best to lighten the debate.

“You can put them all in Kuujjuaq,” Mayor Michael Gordon joked.

In the past, councillors have weighed a variety of issues in making their verdict: which community has the highest overall social housing need, which community needs the most bedrooms, which communities have lowest amount of rent arrears.

But this year there was little bartering because Watson Fournier, head of the Kativik Municipal Housing Bureau, forced councillors to make their decisions blind.

After councillors heard the number of units they had to share, Fournier handed out a sheet listing communities and the percentages of housing units needed and bedrooms needed.

But the list did not identify the communities. Instead, each village was assigned a number and then placed randomly on the list.

Fournier also passed around a sheet of where houses have gone over past four years, including housing that will be built in 2003 and a summary sheet filled out by housing managers.

According to a spring 2003 housing manager survey, he said, there are 2,567 families in Nunavik in need of social housing.

“So if there are 2,567 families that means we need 2,567 houses. And right now we have 1,887 and 52 are being built this summer. So we’re short about 600 houses,” Fournier said.

But this year, most councillors did not let the impossibility of their task get them down.

Jusipi Annahatak, mayor of Kangirsuk, opened by suggesting Kangirsuk was very deserving of social housing. The community has only received six units since the program began.

“Everybody is in need of housing and my recommendation is let’s go with communities who haven’t received housing in number of years. That way it will be more balanced,” he said.

But Charlie Alaku of Kangiqsujuaq quickly countered.

“What Jusipi is saying, even those communities who don’t really need housing will get housing too,” he said.

Gordon, whose village is the largest in Nunavik and has received 38 units over the past four years, added his two cents.

“Some populations are growing faster than others. People from Aupaluk moved to Kuujjuaq,” Gordon said. “But if people who move from Aupaluk stay here, of course they are welcome.”

Opening arguments launched, the councillors agreed to divide the 24 units between three communities in 2004.

KRG chairman Johnny Adams then suggested they select the three most needy, unidentified villages on Fournier’s list.

After selecting a community, they should consider if any houses under the new affordable housing program would be built there because this would open up some social housing, he said.

The councillors agreed and Adams suggested village 14 was the most in need.

Number 14 was listed as having a housing unit deficit of 46 per cent and a bedroom deficit of 16 per cent. The average for Nunavik was 24 per cent for units and 14 per cent for bedrooms.

Councillors agreed to choose village 4 for social housing — even if construction was already scheduled.

Kangirsuk’s Annahatak was the last to vote for the motion.

“You want to see what’s behind curtain number 14?” said Adams.

The councillors all smiled nervously.

“Kangirsuk is number 14,” Fournier announced.

Annahatak broke into a huge smile and the room into a round of applause.

“I’m done,” he said and laughed.

Councillors looked again at the list and began identifying the next neediest villages: 10, 11, 12, 13, 4. And after more debate, they finally chose Inukjuak and Kuujjuaq, numbers 13 and 4.

Since the KRG, Makivik Corp. and the KMHB signed the five-year social housing agreement with the federal and former Parti Quebecois provincial government in September 2000, 169 units have been constructed in Nunavik with another 52 scheduled for the summer of 2003.

The total number of units constructed will reach 245 by the time the agreement ends in 2004.

Puvirnituq and Kuujjuaq have taken the largest share with 46 units each, followed by Inukjuak with 38, Kangiqsualujjuaq 22 and Salluit 20.

Nunavik’s smaller communities have all had fewer than 20 buildings built apiece. Kangiqsujuaq has had 14, Akulivik 12, Kuujjuarapik nine, Tasiujaq and Umiujaq eight each, Kangirsuk 14, Quaqtaq five, and Ivujivik three.

Aupaluk, which has a population of 150, has not had a single unit built since the program began.