Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser announced $27 million towards housing in Nunavut on Friday with $8.9 million of that going to Iqaluit.
Using different methods of building and other reforms, Fraser cited projections of 459 “fast-tracked” homes for the territory in the next three years, and 3,100 in the next decade — almost half of which will be in the capital city.
“The housing crisis in this part of Canada has been going on much longer than most of the country,” the minister said. “In some of the conversations I’ve had since I landed here (on Thursday), it’s been made clear to me that some of the challenges like overcrowding have been persistent since the time permanent communities were established. And today we see approximately 60 per cent of people living in overcrowding, with more than one-third living with poor housing need.
“One of the challenges that we can work with local leaders to overcome is changing the way that communities build homes. This is where the housing accelerator fund comes in… it’s a financial incentive for communities to change the way that they build homes by implementing systemic reforms,” he added.
Fraser also spoke of the role of communities, which can highlight “the strategies that will work in their own backyard.”
“The kinds of changes that are being made through the leadership and creativity of local levels of government include the establishment of a private land development framework that’s going to help reduce the cost of building,” he said.
Streamlined processes
Fraser spoke of “streamlined processes” in Iqaluit that would remove density limitations in the downtown core, and allow six-storey buildings across the city without a municipal zoning change. The minister pointed out that removing administrative steps currently in place would speed up the process and reduce costs. There will also be further incentives created in the capital for families who cannot afford housing costs currently.
Practices will also be put in place to capture and assess data relating to climate resiliency in these new structures, so “governments of all levels can better understand the necessities of building housing that will better work in Canada’s North and will allow the federal government to better understand how climate impacts will work across a wide variety of policy areas.”
Lorne Kusugak, minister of the Nunavut Housing Corporation, said, “This is a significant step towards fulfilling the mandate and the commitment towards expand[ing] the housing continuum. It’s not so much the amount of funds that is announced, but the impact that it will have in the lives of Nunavummiut. Every house built has a huge impact… on the ability to move into a house that they can call their home. It leads to a healthier future, a better education system, and so on.
“This is very good news, it means we are on schedule with the Nunavut 3000 Housing Plan, and moving forward. We look forward to more announcements like this,” Kusugak added.
Iqaluit Mayor Solomon Awa expressed his pleasure with the federal commitment.
“This funding is called the Housing Accelerator Fund, and that is exactly what it is going to help us do,” he said. “It is going to help us speed up the process of getting Iqaluit some more housing, which is one of the city’s greatest needs. Opening 160 new units over three years is going to make a real difference for Iqalummiut.
“The population of Iqaluit is 9,000, but it is also a hub for the Baffin region, and a place where people from all over Nunavut meet. I appreciate the federal government giving the dollars to help build the foundation for more houses… and I’m sure that we’re going to communicate further with [Fraser] about how we can provide this,” he added.
Nunavut MP Lori Idlout, who represents the NDP, described Friday’s announcement as “significant.”
“I know that $27 million is not enough to address all the housing needs for Nunavut, but it will make a dent. I want to remind Nunavummiut that this announcement has been able to happen because of the great work of all of us at all levels of government, including the work of the MP,” she said. “If [Nunavummiut] had not been voicing their concerns with me, I would not have been able to use their voice to make sure that the federal government is listening to what Nunavummiut needs are… This [funding] will have great impacts for our children and grandchildren, we will see success later because of [this] now.