The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation's capital budget for 2021-22 is approximately $55 million, including projects carried over from last year.
That money is expected to build 93 housing units across 18 communities as well as a new local housing organization office in Behchoko.
In 2020-2021, the NWTHC awarded 167 contracts to 63 different NWT contractors to complete construction work.
The housing corporation also has major retrofits of existing units planned in 14 communities this fiscal year. The locations seeing the most activity will be Inuvik – with 29 public residences getting extensive treatment – while 21 units in Fort Simpson and 19 in Yellowknife will be overhauled.
For Wilfred McNeely Jr., proprietor of Tee Jay Contracting in Fort Good Hope, contracts available through the NWTHC represent his “bread and butter.”
He started his business in 1994, “running around with an old Bobcat here in the community to help people develop their properties.
He said housing corporation jobs such as changing doors and renovating Elders' residences has become critical to his livelihood. That's particularly true over the past several years since he no longer gets any work through local community government.
“Public tender for me works better because everybody has an equal opportunity to (bid on) contracts in the community... If they take that away from me, I'm dead in the water,” McNeely Jr. said, lauding the NWTHC for its practices to date. “They're very steady and reliable. There's lots of good people in there that like to treat people fairly. They do things honestly. They follow procedures and policy. As long as I do my end of the work and I follow through with what I say I'm going to do, I get treated with the utmost respect from all of them.”
Fact file
NWT Housing Corp builds 2021-22
Community Building type
Behchoko local housing office, one public fourplex and two public duplexes
Fort Good Hope one public fourplex
Fort Liard one public fourplex
Fort Providence one public fourplex
Fort Resolution one public fourplex
Fort Simpson two market duplexes
Fort Smith two market single-family dwellings, one market duplex and one public duplex
Hay River three market single-family dwellings
Inuvik four market duplexes, two market fourplexes one market single-family dwelling
Kakisa one public fourplex
Lutsel K'e one public fourplex
Ndilo one public duplex
Norman Wells three market single-family dwellings
Paulatuk two public fourplexes
Tsiigehtchic one public fourplex
Tuktoyaktuk one public fourplex
Tulita one public fourplex and one market fourplex
Ulukhaktok one public duplex
Source: NWT Housing Corp.