Nunavut premier joins call for more federal housing money
Premiers want homes included in national infrastructure strategy
From left, premiers Caroline Cochrane of the Northwest Territories and P.J. Akeeagok of Nunavut share a laugh with Premier Tim Houston of Nova Scotia and Premier Heather Stefanson of Manitoba in Winnipeg on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy Government of Nunavut.)
Canada’s premiers say they are “strongly united” on the need for strategic infrastructure planning with the federal government and say housing should be included in those discussions.
Their call came Wednesday in Winnipeg on the final day of the three-day summer conference of the Council of the Federation, which includes all provincial and territorial premiers.
The premiers also discussed Canada-U.S. trade, energy security, and sustainable development and climate action.
“Housing is our number-one priority,” said Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok in an interview with Nunatsiaq News.
“It has been discussed for many decades. There are 3,000 individuals [in Nunavut] without housing.”
For Canada to be a strong Arctic nation, he said, “you need strong communities” and that starts with good quality, sufficient housing.
The premiers also said the plan to improve infrastructure should look at shipping ranging from rail to highway and water.
The federal government needs to meet with premiers to discuss these priorities, said Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson at a news conference after the premiers met.
British Columbia Premier David Eby joined Akeeagok’s call for housing, saying any talks with the federal government need to go beyond traditional considerations like highways, rail networks or ports, and must include housing.
“We need an integrated approach,” he said.
Eby said that individually the provinces and territories can only get so far. They need a federal partner to create a national approach.
In May 2023, the federal government announced it would introduce a new long-term infrastructure plan this fall to get more affordable housing built across the country.
“The reality is that I’m really excited about the [federal government’s] announcement for housing money,” said Premier Caroline Cochrane of the Northwest Territories.
Cochrane noted, however, “it’s not only about building houses, it’s actually about making the houses affordable.”
Akeeagok echoed Cochrane, saying he was “really pleased to hear potential new federal funding might directly target housing.”
He noted, however, the Government of Nunavut is making progress on its own.
The GN announced last year a plan to build 3,000 homes across Nunavut by 2030 in a $2.6-billion partnership with the private sector and Inuit organizations. The plan, dubbed Nunavut 3000, includes training programs to bolster the labour workforce needed to build these homes.
In May, the territorial government announced plans to build 150 homes across eight Nunavut communities as part of Nunavut 3000.
A three-day Nunavut 3000 housing forum starts Friday in Iqaluit.
3000 houses or rooms …can’t see it happening within timeline….
Especially in Nunavut….no roads
No competing airlines no railways
No local construction happening much accept for local business.
How is it possible for nunavumiut to get 3000 units .
Trailers by the dzs….make trailer parks for the boys ….
Yea , i wanna live next to Bubbles
Haha SARCASM you probably already do, just look out your door and you might see him or someone who looks like him or even a zombie LOL
“A three-day Nunavut 3000 housing forum starts Friday in Iqaluit.”
When and where? Which Friday?
Who is organizing it? Who is attending? Is it open to the public? Will Nunatsiaq News be covering it?
From https://www.igluliuqatigiingniq.ca/NHC_Housing_Forum_Invite.pdf
“NUNAVUT 3000 Building houses together HOUSING FORUM JUNE 14 – 16, 2023”
.
But that was last month. Has it been rescheduled. or is this article referring to another one? Is Nunavut having monthly Housing Forums?
.
So many questions, so little information…
What the GN should also do is have the plans for houses available to the public (Free) along with what supplies are needed. Make it easier for someone that wants to build a house, but the extra money for original blueprints and figuring out what material is needed can get in the way. Where would I even begin to figure that out?
Also maybe have some trailer options (good for a small family) so all that is needed is to talk to a company in the south that builds them, get a mortgage from a bank and buy it from them then ship it up.
150 new homes constructed in Nunavut within a year has been achieved before without any grand housing strategy.
150 homes per year over the next 7 years is 1,050 homes, not 3,000.
In order to meet this target, they need to build 429 homes or units per year.
They are already 279 short of their goal.
In order to catch up, they need to built at least 708 in 2024.
We will see next year if Nunavut 3000 is really anything more than hot air.
Housing is a Nunavut problem that will eventually solve itself. Our youth are already moving south to other places where government and private business are doing a better job of meeting peoples basic needs. They are voting on Nunavut housing with their feet.
If Nunavut 3000 is a couple thousand units short by 2030, it may not mean we have thousands more homeless up here, as may be assumed.
It may mean that thousands of our youth will have been economically ejected from their homeland, which may be sadder still.
First Nunavut spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a student to graduate from grade 12.
Then Nunavut “ejects” them south, so Nunavut loses the $40,000 per year that it would get from Ottawa for each resident, if they were to have stayed in Nunavut.
Finally, Nunavut pays to bring a southern person to Nunavut and provides them with housing, so they can do the work that a Nunavummiut would have done, had they stayed and been trained.
Makes perfect sense. Not.
How does Nunavut “eject” this fictional person south?
@No tax, you are not making sense. There are so many jobs that are posted and not responded to by Nunavut Inuit, then having to be given to southern applicants. I am in a vantage point that i see this as a regular occurance. The interest is just not there for Nunavut Inuit to apply for many of the good paying GN jobs.
Har Har Har…..the traveling roadshow with arms out seeking additional funding. This housing thing is a major lie. You want a house? Get an education, then a job, put together a down payment. When will the Inuit stop be enabled to do nothing? Never.
First, those who are educated and skilled and gainfully employed should be able to buy or rent their own housing. Given that the Nunavut Agreement was signed 30 years ago, how is it that outsiders fill so many of the well-paid jobs, such as doctors, accountants, engineers and trades?
Second, for every single Inuk in Nunavut, man, woman and child there’s about $80,000 in dead money in the Nunavut Trust. That’s some $400,000 for a family of four. Add about another third again for Baffin region Inuit, in royalties from the iron mine. All that money does is support bums on seats duplicating what the GN should be doing, as well as some $10 million annually for non-Inuit (!) investment advisors.
Canadian taxpayers provide 90 percent of the cost of GN, or getting on for another $100,000 annually per Inuk.
How many times over must taxpayers pay to support Club Med in the arctic?
“How is it that outsiders fill so many of the well-paid jobs, such as doctors, accountants, engineers and trades?” So what’s your plan Colin? Move someone over to the hospital and have them work along side a doctor and learn on the fly? Are there courses up here to be a doctor? NO of course not … common cents at its best
Thanks for the reminder that a born and raised Canadian I am an outsider. As an outside i’ll take my skills and talents elsewhere and be telling all in my field how welcoming and encouraging a the locals are.
The majority of public housing in Nunavut is leased by individuals who are receiving income assistance. The monthly assessment is usually $60.00 for this individual, who then receives a subsidized power bill monthly, for example, $11-$20.00 give or take.
That alone does not pay the cost to heat it annually or pay the remaining power bill. maintain or insure it. Let’s not forget the lease of the property, and municipal service bills.
Nunavut Housing Corporation is responsible for each Local Housing Organization, they need to ensure that each LHO board member adopts a by-law to increase the monthly assessment for those receiving income assistance as invoicing $60.00 a month does not cover the cost to maintain the unit. (The tenant will not be paying the rent out of their pocket as it will come from the Income Support)
Premier push NHC to hire staff that will implement and get things rolling.
Instead of allowing NHC to spend consider amount of dollars on useless things as Tenant handbook or calendars which are usually thrown in the trash.
All other provinces and territories have homeless issues. Is the GN asking for more money just in Nunavut or do they care about the plight of homeless people all across this (used to be) great nation?
I think because of the Land Claims Agreement, the Gov has to provide housing.
There are no entitlements to housing in the Nunavut Agreement.
“Housing is our priority” after the GN went two straight fiscal years without awarding a single housing construction tender.
Should call GN, …MORE. . MORE, MORE!”
I’m not sure if the Feds will be willing to give more money when NTI has been sitting on 400 million plus dollars for more than two years without really doing anything.
I’m not sure what is going on over at NTI but they have been sitting on a lot of funding and no real movement or updates to beneficiaries.
They even started a new department for self government and we can’t find any information on this from their annual report or website.
The 400 million that NTI got from the feds for housing is a lot of money, with little to no updates from NTI is would be nice to know what has been going on for the last 2-3 years and what is being planned to build badly needed housing.
I’m glad PJ is working on this on the GN side, a new approach from the feds is welcomed, places like the Maritimes, Newfoundland got infrastructure built from federal funding back in the day, ports and so on, same type of vision is needed for the north to catch up with the rest of Canada.