Nunavut 3000 revs up with $240M on the table
Money to pay for 316 housing units across all 25 of territory’s communities
Premier P.J. Akeeagok, third left from centre, and Finance Minister Lorne Kusugak, centre wearing a checkered shirt, stand alongside members of Nunavut Housing Corp., NCC Development Ltd. and students from Nunavut Arctic College in Rankin Inlet in 2022. (Photo by David Lochead)
The push to make Nunavut 3000 a reality has begun with $240 million worth of contracts out to build 316 units across the territory.
Nunavut Housing Corp. and NCC Development Ltd. announced late last month they’d come to a $134.7-million design-build agreement for NCC to construct 166 units in 17 communities.
That’s on top of a $105.3-million contract NCC already has to build 150 units in eight communities, including Iqaluit. That contract was announced in May 2023, with construction expected to start that fall.
Construction indeed started in Iqaluit in August, said Clarence Synard, NCC Development president and CEO, in an email to Nunatsiaq News.
Construction is ongoing in the remaining seven communities of Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak, Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet, Arviat, Baker Lake and Arctic Bay, he said.
“Ten to 12 months from now will see the completion of these,” Synard said of all 150 units from the May 2023 announcement.
NCC Development’s first Housing 3000 build is expected to be complete in July, according to Synard. It’s an 18-unit affordable-housing structure in lower Iqaluit.
Last year’s contract paid NCC $600 per square foot on these units. That price went up to $670 per square foot in last month’s announcement.
“Budgets are tight but achievable,” Synard said of the work.
The Nunavut government and Nunavut Housing Corp. announced Nunavut 3000 in 2022. It’s a plan to build 3,000 units across the territory by 2030.
The project is estimated to cost $2.6 billion, with $900 million from the private sector and the rest covered by the public sector and Inuit organizations.
NCC is tasked with building 2,000 of these units.
This year’s agreement to build 166 units puts NCC Development to work in all of Nunavut’s 25 communities.
The complete list of projects includes:
- 18 units in Iqaluit;
- 20 units in Rankin Inlet, Arviat, Baker Lake, Arctic Bay, Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak;
- 12 units in Cambridge Bay;
- 16 units in Pangnirtung;
- 20 units in Igloolik and Kinngait;
- 12 units in Coral Harbour and Kugluktuk;
- Six units in Grise Fiord, Kimmirut, Resolute Bay, Qikiqtarjuaq and Whale Cove;
- Eight units in Chesterfield Inlet, Clyde River, Kugaaruk, Naujaat, Pond Inlet, Sanirajak and Sanikiluaq.
Apprentice builders in Rankin Inlet turned over a three-bedroom home to the housing corporation in December as part of a pilot project to give Inuit the skills needed to contribute to building efforts.
That home was announced as a Nunavut 3000 build.
The contract with NCC Development includes a goal to complete its projects with a 30 per cent Inuit workforce.
Tagak looks deathly green. Maybe he already knows what a fiasco this is likely to be?
“Quana for the question” is also in the photo op
GREAT NEWS, BUT SADLY, the unit will only last a few years like all current units, cause people don’t see it as their homes and just trash them. have some pride in living in your own space Inuit.
Budgets are tight at $670 per square foot, which is already up $70 per square foot in a year? This is concerning for the already astronomical prices in the housing market these days.
For a typical home in Nunavut that is roughly 1400 square feet – 1800 square feet, the cost of that home should range $938,000 – $1,206,000 (according to the $670 per square foot). The prices are already on the upward trend as we’ve seen in Iqaluit, but with this contract awarded at the $670 per square foot costs, doesn’t help future home buyers put their minds at ease about ever being able to afford to purchase a home without having to ask so many people to co-sign or save $300,000 for a down-payment.
This is great for those who already own their own homes, but think about those who don’t or are trying to buy their own homes and can’t keep up with the inflation of the housing prices and have to keep increasing their saving goals for a down-payment.
If in fact this is what it costs to build a new home in Nunavut, most young Inuit have been priced out of the homeowners market forever,million dollar mortgages good luck with any bank, and people will be trapped in gov staff houses and public housing units, and private rental units. Stay on social assistance, 60.00 month
“Budgets are going to be tight at averages of $811,445 for a 1,211 square foot unit”, Synard said, while standing for a photo-op next to his buddy, President of NHC, Eiryn Devereaux.
Ok and your point is 🤷🏻♂️
30 percent Inuit hire, that’s pretty low considering they’re using public money to ship up people from the south.
There is alot of Inuit that are in poverty and their commitment for only 30 percent hire is not helping any Inuit.
Especially for a “Inuit owned and operated company” such as NCCD
Do want the units built?
Short answer yes we do, but this is also a great opportunity to build on the local capacity in the construction sector, it would be a missed opportunity if they don’t include a plan to build local capacity in the construction field, might be more time and money in the short term but for the long term having local construction workers instead of flying in and out majority of the workers from the south like Kudlik has done for decades.
They will hire as many hard working, skilled Inuit as they can. At the same time the widespread delusion that anyone can be pulled off the street and start building homes is just that, a delusion.
30% is a high number in my opinion.
I’ll be impressed if they hit 30.
Pop up tent tent community 😂
Yay on the houses. And I’m sure glad we have a utilidor system for all those houses.
Concerned:
In the south when large projects such as this housing agreement. The amounts contributed from the federal government and the provincial government. Tax payers are made aware how much each party invested. Will that same process be followed here in Nunavut? I for one would like to know how much the tax payers of Nunavut are contributing. And how much the federal government portion is.
Just so you dont have any delusions of the GN. But they only collect on a 2% payroll tax and profit from the beer & wine store…… The rest is a Federal Transfer Payment. Which equals 2.2 Billion is transferred to the Government of Nunavut from the Federal Government. So even in your scenario of “how much the tax payers of Nunavut are contributing” its less than 1% as the GN relies on Federal Transfer payments. therefore its all Fed money.
Despite how desperate the housing situation is in Nunavut, it is indeed unfortunate how quickly and thoroughly other priorities and interests creep in on the overall goal of putting roofs over heads.
The Housing need (apparently) can only be addressed while simultaneously dealing with Inuit employment, Inuit training and pumping more money through our birthright corporation, which apparently did not benefit enough from leasing great numbers of staff houses to the GN for 20 years, then getting a windfall payment from the GN to pay them out for the aging units.
As Nunavut 3000 continues, I anticipate even more emphasis on supporting local business, and meeting other community development goals.
This is a problem. When Nunavut cannot approach a crisis without getting sidetracked, things cost more, and time is used up. In the meantime, people continue to suffer, costs increase, and the money to spend has less impact.
QC recently took a fair amount of flack by sourcing a modular hotel for Iqaluit. This is a symptom of this problem, for something that is much more frivolous than getting our people out of the cold.
If modular is cheaper and faster, produces more units, options such as these need to be put on top of the pile.
Rev all you want but get r in gear before you blow the engine. Come on now he first award is still 12 to 14 months away from completion. So from award to keys in hand will be over 21 months. May as well call it 2 years. Idling at the curb.
Fed Money:
Thank you for clarifying the numbers. I was trying to make the same point. If so many Federal dollars going into the project. Why the requirement for 30 percent Inuit work force. Why can’t the contractors hire workers. From all over Canada. That would seem to be the cheapest and fairest. Way to do the work
Please look at
https://assembly.nu.ca/library/GNedocs
Government of Nunavut Contractors Manual
Where it states the following
Employment
In the area of employment, a bonus or penalty will be calculated as percentage of the amount by
which Inuit employment either exceeds or does not meet the mandatory Inuit employment
requirement.
An example would be:
Minimum threshold percentage set at 25% by the Contracting Authority
Total dollar value of the labour content is $100,000
Contractor exceeds the minimum threshold requirement by 10% (total Inuit employment
35%)
A bonus would then be awarded based on:
i. Total dollar value of the contractors labour content = $100,000
ii. Contractors percentage in excess of the minimum threshold percentage = 10% (35% – 25%)
iii. Bonus awarded = 10% multiplied by $100,00
GOC also follows the Nunavut Directive as they are required to by Article 24
https://www.tbs-sct.canada.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=32610
Is this with the funds 400 million for housing from the feds that NTI received 2-3 years ago?
NTI has been sitting on all kinds of funds for years now and they don’t show or talk about this for some reason.
You’ll see crap units for general public, and the works with a well built unit for government and government officials. Inuit pay rent food and all the other nonsense. While government officials rent free, groceries paid for. If the government was all for Inuit, we’d be living like NWT. Even Alaskans are well taken care of. From white to brown to yellow to black, Alaskan are taken care of. Nunavut is so crap. Because nunavut GN are blowouts. From left to right.