Say what you will about Justin Trudeau's Liberals but they cannot be easily accused of being ungenerous with taxpayers' money.
Adam Vaughan, parliamentary secretary to the minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Jean-Yves Duclos, was playing Santa Claus last week as he announced $87.7 million in new money for the territory as part of Canada’s 10-year National Housing Strategy. The GNWT is contributing $51.7 million toward the deal for a total of $139.4 million.
The Liberals have been doling out money so fast Vaughan presumably didn't realize the NWT had changed housing ministers earlier this year when Alfred Moses traded cabinet seats with then-housing minister Caroline Cochrane.
With Moses sitting in the audience, Vaughan made certain to include a “Minister Cochrane” in his joint funding announcement, who last year expressed exasperation with the sweetheart deal Nunavut received when Ottawa announced $300 million for northern housing, with the lion's share – $240 million – going to our neighbour.
So, Ottawa has made amends – somewhat. And our MP Michael McLeod can take that into the next election.
Alas, all these millions – likewise in Nunavut – will be but a drop of water in a deepening hole, in a territory with little market housing but extremely expensive housing needs that will remorselessly continue to gobble up cash no matter how much is dumped into it.
Numbers from the NWT Housing Corporation in 2017 had 229 people on the waiting list for public housing just in Yellowknife, including 118 people waiting for a one-bedroom unit and 80 people waiting on a two-bedroom apartment. In 2016, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) found Yellowknife to be one of the country’s most expensive rental markets. Residents paid higher rents than Vancouver or Toronto, at an average of $1,636 per month for a two-bedroom apartment.
The CMHC also found 28 per cent of residents in Yellowknife could not afford to rent or own at market rates without assistance from the government.
With close to 20 per cent of households across the territory in core need – households that have affordability, adequacy and/or suitability issues and a total household income below the Core Need Income Threshold – and 1,243 or close to 18 per cent of households in Yellowknife in core need it’s difficult to see the end of the rainbow in catching up with those needs. Barring any unforeseen good fortunes coming our way, this scenario is only bound to get worse. Much worse.
The Conference Board of Canada said in its most recent report on the NWT that the “The Northwest Territories economy is forecast to contract at an average annual pace of 1.6 per cent between now and 2025.” That's a cumulative 12 per cent contraction in the years ahead.
And though the city has taken the lead beyond its responsibilities by establishing a Housing First program with the YWCA and a 10-year plan to end homelessness, including plans for 165 permanent housing units, 180 affordable housing spaces and 200 rent support spaces for the YWCA, the city took a big hit with the Rockhill fire and the displacement of its tenants.
The fact of the matter is, what the territory needs more than anything – beyond these endless handouts – is more investment incentives and more infrastructure to grow its economy. Where is the urgency to build an all-season road to the diamond mines? Or to connect them and Alberta to a grid powered by NWT hydro? Why are the feds dismantling remote runways in the Barrens that help supply exploration instead of building them?
It's hard to find money to invest in needs like health and housing when the economy is flatlining. Cultivating economic growth requires creativity, boldness and a sense of purpose. Unfortunately, too many politicians find it easier to jet into town with a sackful of cash and call it progress.