Kinngait’s slice of Nunavut 3000 pie to include 70 public housing units, says housing corporation

This article was updated July 31 at 12:40 p.m.

Kinngait could see 70 new public housing units by 2030 as part of the territorial government’s Nunavut 3000 project.

A group from Nunavut Housing Corp., Department of Community and Government Services, NCC Land Development Ltd., the Lands for Homes Initiative and members of Brighter Community, a planning and consulting company hired for the project, visited the hamlet last week to identify and inspect proposed land that could become lots for this future housing.

Kinngait was the last of 10 communities the team visited over the past three weeks as part of its housing tour.

The goal is to begin construction on 20 units in Kinngait — population 1,441 — by the end of this year, said Aastha Patel, who works with Brighter Community.

Patel added the hamlet is expected to also receive two modular units for RCMP staff housing by the end of the year.

The Nunavut government and Nunavut Housing Corp. announced Nunavut 3000 in 2022, as a response to housing shortages across the territory.

Houses in Nunavut are often overcrowded with 35 per cent of homes not having enough bedrooms for the amount of people living in them, compared to a rate of five per cent nationally, according to a 2020 report by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

In Kinngait, it’s common to see people of three generations crowded under the same roof that was built in 1960s, said assistant senior administrative officer Janice Mathewsie.

She gave an example of her cousin, Mary Mathewsie, who lives in a five-bedroom house with no fire escape that more than a dozen people call home, including Mary’s chlidren and grandchildren.

This was the housing corporation’s second tour like this. The previous tour was organized in September and included 17 communities.

The team arrived to Kinngait at around 10:30 a.m. on July 17 and flew back to Iqaluit before 6 p.m. the same day. They divided into two groups to both inspect the land and meet with local leaders.

It was a successful experience, said Juanie Pudluk, the associate deputy minister of Nunavut Housing Corp., who joined the team for the Kinngait stop. In addition to identifying the lots, the team also had the chance to connect with the community and get their input in to the project, he said.

Darren Hickes from the Nunavut Housing Corp. who is part of the team in the Qikiqtaaluk region, said visiting the communities helps him get to know its residents.

“From now on when I call a hamlet, I’m not just some random Darren from housing, I’m Darren that you met,” he said.

Nunavut 3000 is estimated to cost $2.6 billion, with $900 million coming from the private sector and the rest covered by governments and Inuit organizations.

Nunavut Housing Corp. and NCC Development Ltd. are directly responsible for construction of close to half of all the planned houses with around 1,400 public housing units across Nunavut.

The team on the ground planned to look at approximately five to 10 lots in Kinngait that were pre-determined as potential sites before the trip.

On the ground they were looking at the flatness of the land, soil condition and other housing around the potential development site.

“Obviously there’s a need for housing but we are trying to make sure homes are not looking too out of place,” said Scott Quinn who is creating a database of the lots that will be shared with all partners as part of Lands for Homes Initiative.

“It’s like trying to balance those two practicalities.”

After the meeting, Kinngait Mayor Jimmy Manning said that both the hamlet office and the community are very excited about the new units.

“The housing issue is the priority, and this has been very long overdue,” Manning said.

Note: This article has been updated to correct the construction timeline and number of new public housing units that will be built in Kinngait.