Thompson promises unknown number of new houses

MICHAELA RODRIGUE
Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT — Nunavut Housing Minister Manitok Thompson says her government will build new social housing units next year — but she doesn’t know how many, or where.

“The pressure is on. I have to build,” Thompson said.

Right now the waiting list for housing units across Nunavut sits at 672 names. But Thompson said the real number of units needed is probably higher and says she’s feeling heat from regular MLAs to build.

“Right now I’m pressured to build because they want the houses to be built next summer. I have to get moving now,” she said.

Thompson estimates she will have to find $10 to $15 million in her department’s capital budget to pay for the new units. Most of the money will come out of next year’s budget, but she says there may be some money available this year.

The Nunavut Housing Corporation’s capital budget for 1999-2000 is $19 million. The money is for homeownership programs and retrofits.

Last month, the Nunavut legislature’s standing committee on housing called on Thompson to attack the housing crisis immediately. The committee wants the government to buy building supplies and begin site preparation for 75 new units this year.

The committee wants the government to use money left unspent on unfilled government jobs to pay for materials. Construction costs for the 75 units would come out of next year’s budget.

Thompson’s recent pledge to build next year doesn’t go far enough, said Arviat MLA Kevin O’Brien, the chair of the assembly’s committee.

“Nothing is happening out of the recommendation we made,” O’Brien said.

“If you had half a brain, you would assume that you were going to build houses next year anyway. We were trying to get a jump on it this year and try to get things going now,” O’Brien said.

Thompson says it doesn’t make sense to order supplies before the government decides what kind of houses it will build and how many.

“We have to find out what type [of units] we’re building before we start bringing in materials. That’s the bottom line,” Thompson said, adding its too late to order supplies for the sealift.

“The only community that can buy materials right now is Arviat because they’re close to the Manitoba border,” she said.

Thompson has formed a new task force to decide what kinds of housing units the government should build and what they should look like. The task force is made up of MLAs and representatives from the Nunavut Housing Corporation and community housing associations.

But first Thompson will have to find the cash. She said she will use money from her department’s capital budget, which may mean taking money away from other housing programs, she said.

But if housing is the Nunavut government’s number one priority, the government should tap into this year’s expected surplus, O’Brien said.

“If you’re robbing Peter to pay Paul, something’s going to suffer. Are they going to cut back on repair programs for the various houses? If you do that, all you’re doing is moving the problem around,” O’Brien said.

Once Thompson earmarks money for the units, she’ll also have to figure out which communities will benefit.

Thompson said her department already has a good idea of how many units each community needs, but hasn’t been decided how the new units will be allocated.

Thompson said sat aside from finding money from within her own department to build new houses, she and Finance Minister Kelvin Ng will travel to Ottawa before Christmas to lobby for more money to build new units and maintain existing units.

New social housing construction was stalled in 1992, when the federal government withdrew support for social housing construction in the territories.

The federal government does provide money to operate and maintain Nunavut’s 3,500 social housing units, but that money is slowly being phased out.

The Nunavut government’s first budget did not include any money for new construction.