Feds announce new funding for 101 affordable homes in Nunavut

Feds announce new funding for 101 affordable homes in Nunavut
Feds announce new funding for 101 affordable homes in Nunavut

Arabnews24.ca:Friday 4 March 2022 03:37 PM: The federal government is giving Nunavut $45 million to build 101 affordable housing units in six communities.

Ahmed Hussen, the federal minister for Housing, Diversity and Inclusion, said Friday the units will be built in Iqaluit, Sanirajak, Kimmirut, Naujaat, Kugaaruk and Pond Inlet.

"When completed, these units will support people who are vulnerable, including women and children, and those who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless," Hussen said.

"These projects will do a lot of good, and they're located right across the territory of Nunavut."

The funding will come from the Rapid Housing Initiative, a federal program that helps fund affordable homes and new rental units, among other things.

Nunavut Economic Development and Transportation Minister Lorne Kusugak, who is in charge of the Nunavut Housing Corporation, welcomed the news Friday and said the territorial government "intends to put these funds to good use during our construction season."

"With the costs of construction becoming more uncertain, efforts to find further funding become more and more important. We hope this funding signifies the federal government's continued commitment to housing Nunavummiut," he said.

Kusugak said his government keeps a list of which communities are most in need of affordable homes. That's how they determined the six communities for this funding, he said.

Lorne Kusugak is the Nunavut minister in charge of the Nunavut Housing Corporation. (Jackie McKay/CBC)

Housing is listed as a top priority for the current Nunavut government. In January, Premier P.J. Akeeagok issued a plea for "true action" from the federal government on the territory's housing crisis.

In all, he noted the territory needs 3,500 housing units to address the crisis, at a cost of $2 billion.

The housing crisis has been linked to other challenges in the territory, from the frequency of lower respiratory tract infections in children to high suicide rates and poor education outcomes. 

The shortage of housing was also invoked as a root cause in the recent inquest into the shooting death of Jeremy Nuvviaq by police in 2017. 

Timeline uncertain

Hussen said funding through the Rapid Housing Initiative usually has a strict timeline — homes have to be built and people have to be moved in within 12 months.

That timeline will be extended for this funding, though.

"Because of the unique challenges in the North, we are usually a little bit more flexible with that requirement," Hussen said.

Hussen said 100 homes is a "big number" for anywhere in Canada, but especially in Nunavut.

"I know it'll make a huge difference," he said.

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