Federal announcement of 700 homes for Nunavut scant on details
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Funding amounts, timelines and locations are all still up in the air
While the federal government recently announced the construction of 700 affordable housing units in Nunavut, even the territory’s housing corporation — and project partner — says there are few details on how those homes will become a reality.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the Build Canada Homes initiative to build thousands of homes across the country, including those in Nunavut.
“Best news I’ve heard in a long time,” said Lorne Kusugak, the territory’s finance minister and minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation, in reaction to the announcement.
“The government of Canada specifically states that they’re going to work with the Nunavut Housing Corporation to build 700 homes … That says a lot about the federal government’s trust and faith in the Nunavut Housing Corporation,” he added.
Funding, timeline, locations unclear
The Build Canada Homes program comes with an overall price tag of $13 billion, but it’s unclear how much of that will go toward Nunavut.
Beyond the funding, the timeline for building and locations are also unclear, according to Kusugak.
“[It’s] maybe weeks, if not months away from hammering out those particular details,” he said.
Eiryn Devereaux, president and CEO of the Nunavut Housing Corporation, says the territory faces “the most challenging housing conditions” in the country.
An auditor general’s report from earlier this year showed that about 60 per cent of Nunavummiut rely on public housing, and that 45 per cent of those units are overcrowded.
Devereaux said the 700 homes recently announced will also be counted as part of Nunavut 3,000, the territory’s plan to build 3,000 homes by 2030.
“This supports … the actions and the plans we already had in place,” he said.
Built at home
Joe Savikataaq, MLA for Arviat South, hopes the project will be a boon for his community, both to house residents and create jobs.
“There’s a need for housing,” he says. “The wait list for public housing is extremely [long].”
He added that a modular homes factory is nearing completion and should be open next year.
“I’m hoping that [the federal government will] purchase some from there because we want that business to be viable,” said Savikataaq. “It’ll create employment, and not only that, but it should cost less to ship them out there as opposed to shipping [from] the South.”
According to a news release, about one third of the 700 homes will be built “off-site, using innovative construction methods such as factory-built housing.”
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Lack of housing for builders delays construction of new daycare in Sanirajak, CBC News
Greenland: Despite housing shortages, Greenland razes colonial apartment blocks, Blog by Mia Bennett
