There’s a new public housing unit on the block in Rankin Inlet, and though it won’t solve the housing crisis alone, the initiative represents a collaborative effort to give students real-world experience and tackle the Nunavut 3,000 challenge together.
“It’s not just building a house,” said Albert Netser, dean of technology and trades with Nunavut Arctic College (NAC). “It’s building our people.”
The project saw approximately 40 students play a role in the three-bedroom house build from start to finish. The unit, located in Rankin Inlet’s old town, was officially transferred to the Nunavut Housing Corporation Tuesday, Dec. 19.
Students in the Sanatuliqsarvik Nunavut Trades Training Centre Apprenticeship Program received mentorship and experience that many don’t have a chance to acquire without such an opportunity. It’s Netser’s hope to expand the Inuit construction and trades workforce through programs like this one.
“I believe that we’re making changes to these young people,” he said, adding that they come from different backgrounds, with different challenges in life, but all receive the same support at NAC.
The project was developed through a memorandum of understanding among NAC, the Nunavut Housing Corporation and the career development division of the Department of Family Services under the Igluliuqatigiingniq Nunavut 3,000 Strategic Plan. Sakku Investments Corporation also partnered on the initiative.
Lorne Kusugak, minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation, gave some tough truths about the industry in Nunavut in his speech.
“If we were to build 5,000 houses today in Nunavut, we’d still be short houses,” he said. “That’s a lot of houses in Nunavut. But it’s a task we can achieve if everybody in this room works together. We can get there, and we will get there.”
He added that a significant amount of housing funding doesn’t stay in Nunavut, saying that if the federal government provided the Government of Nunavut $500 million, only 10 per cent or so remains in the territory, as the house and most of the workers come from the south.
“In Nunavut when they give us money, we send most of it back south,” said Kusugak, adding that projects like this one will help change that story.
Noel Kaludjak, chair of the local housing organization’s board of directors, called the housing project successful, especially in terms of the sometimes-heartbreaking conditions Nunavummiut are forced to endure.
“We have some family members who live in shacks,” he said.
About 30 people were present for the key-exchange ceremony, including a few students who participated in the building process.
