Shelter - New Home Construction 

THE PRESENT STATE

Housing in Canada can be divided into four categories:

  • Shelter/Transitional Housing
  • Public Housing
  • Below-Market Housing
  • Market Housing

Throughout the northern territories, many families can’t afford market housing.

The supply of below-market available properties is too small in many communities, forcing families who could afford them to remain in public housing, causing a backlog of those waiting to get into them.

Federal and Territorial Governments are working hard to make more funding available for all types of housing. But funds are limited, and the funds that are available are largely being used to build public housing at full retail prices.

Homes of 1100 square feet (100 square meters) are often built and sold for $700,000 or more. These prices are too high for most families to afford to buy, so the houses are built as public housing then provided to families through a subsidized rent program.

Public housing leaves the government acting as the landlord, denies families the opportunity of home ownership, and maintains a system where families can't prosper and communities can't thrive.

Data from the 2021 census show 53% of Nunangat families living in overcrowded conditions. This has only improved by 1.2% since 2016, showing that, unfortunately, the current fixes aren’t working.

 

In Whitehorse, Yukon, a 2020 report issued by APTN showed only a 2.4% vacancy rate, leading to bidding wars for limited housing options. People are paying up to $1700 monthly just to rent a basement.

 

A study by NWT Bureau of Statistics shows 42% of residents in the NWT have major problems with affording housing and overcrowding. Further, 20% of households in Behchkoko, Colville Lake, and Hay River Dene Reserve had six or more people under one roof and had high rates of suitability issues.

 

A 2022 report from the ITK estimated that $3 Billion is needed over the next decade to both repair existing housing and create sufficient new housing to eliminate overcrowding.

 

The 2022 Federal Budget included just $150 Million for 2022-24 to address housing and infrastructure needs.

 

Further, Ottawa promised $290 Million for housing in Nunavut from 2020-2027.

 

Nunavut 3000 is a yet unfunded strategy that aims to build 3000 homes by 2030. It is expected to cost $2.57 Billion, far exceeding funds in the budget described above.

 

In April 2023, the Nunavut Housing Corporation (NHC) contracted a company to build public 150 public housing units for $105.3 Million, that NHC will provide as subsidized rentals to families who can’t afford to buy housing. These homes will be built over 7 years. While a great start, they are all public housing and only provide 150 homes toward the 3000-home goal.

Click here for links to read further:

CBC News Report on Housing Crisis in Nunavut

Nunatsiaq Report on Housing Crisis

CBC Report on Yukon Housing

THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE

Promise for the North is a charity that can permanently solve the housing issues! We will:

  • Obtain government grants to support construction, and seek donations and sponsorships to greatly increase our construction capabilities.
  • Provide both temporary and permanent buildings to eliminate overcrowding.
  • Quickly acquire, transport, and install modular buildings, at a charitable rate, to provide office, commercial, or residential spaces immediately.
  • Acquire building materials and construction labour, at a charitable rate, to support a massive construction effort beginning in the 2025 summer season.
  • Work with cargo shippers to get the material to the towns before the construction season begins, again at charitable rates.
  • Have crews work around the clock during the midnight sun to build as many homes as possible.
  • Employ certified companies to build the homes and pay them to employ local residents as apprentices to provide jobs and much needed skills to help the community become self-sustaining.
  • As a charity, sell the homes to local families below cost.
  • Work with lenders to help families get home loans at favourable down payment and interest rate terms.
  • Combine home sale proceeds with further government grants and further donations to fund the next season's build.

THIS PLAN WILL WORK! It will allow us to stay focused on meeting Nunavut 3000 and other critical housing goals. The benefits of our plan are tremendous:

  • Families can move into good-sized homes, big enough for their wonderful families.
  • Families can enjoy the advantages of owning their own homes.
  • As families move out of public housing and into their new homes, we can work with the government to refurbish the vacated home and then make it available to one of the thousands currently on the waiting list for public housing.
  • As families decide to improve, expand, remodel, or do repairs to their new home, they will look to hire local businesses for this work. This will help local businesses grow, providing more and stable jobs within the community. Some of the apprentices that worked on building these homes can now work on these home improvement projects.
  • When homes are built then converted to public housing, there is no loan for a bank to be involved in. Selling homes to families requiring a mortgage will increase business for the banks involved, providing more jobs and more stability for yet another community business.
  • The family will pay property taxes on their home. These taxes will help the community become more self-sufficient as it grows its revenue base that it needs to fund schools and other community services.
  • The territorial government does not have to act as a landlord. As more homes are sold to families, this will decrease the burden of managing public housing for the government. This will allow the government to focus its resources in other critical areas.
  • The federal government can reduce their burden on funding housing efforts in the North, refocusing their resources on critical initiatives throughout Canada.

 

Great for the families, the community, local businesses, the territorial and federal governments! Truly a win for everyone!

 

We can make this work!

  • It starts with donors and sponsors providing critical funding to help us build these desperately needed homes.
  • It continues with suppliers willing to provide their materials and labour at charitable rates, and the government recognising their contributions.
  • It takes shape with communities asking for homes to be built for their citizens.
  • It becomes reality when families are able to acquire an affordable mortgage to buy their new home.

 

Let's work together to conquer the housing crisis across every community in the North!