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IQALUIT - Stimulus spending on social housing in the North is an indication of federal investment in the long-term, said Northern housing ministers last week.

The ministers from Canada's three territories met for the first time Jan. 29 to discuss the challenges of addressing the housing needs for the North.

Nunavut minister Hunter Tootoo spoke in favour of federal stimulus funding that will reach Nunavut. - Carolyn Sloan/NNSL photo

The housing ministers applauded the $50 million boosts for both the Yukon and Northwest Territories and $100 million in Nunavut for social housing recently announced as part of the Conservative government's $40 billion economic stimulus package.

This funding "recognizes the uniqueness, the complexity of delivery housing in the North and the funding requirements that all three of our territories share," said Hunter Tootoo, minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation. "I think that we all agreed that it's foresight on behalf of the federal government, their plan to help boost the economy, where they've realized that investment in the North is an investment in the Canadian economy."

Nunavut received $200 million from the federal government in 2006 for the construction of 725 units under the Nunavut Housing Trust initiative. The new funding announced in the federal budget is expected to supply the territory with an additional 350 units.

An estimated 3,000 units are needed to address critical overcrowding rates in Nunavut, bringing it up to par with the rest of the country.

"We may joke about the disparity of Nunavut getting more money, but we do recognize the fact that Nunavut has a really unique situation here," said Jim Kenyon, minister responsible for the Yukon Housing Corporation.

The ministers agreed the stimulus funding for housing was just the beginning in terms of the federal government's commitment over the long-term.

"The dollars that were provided by the federal government is certainly welcoming," said Michael McLeod, minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. "We recognize, although, that in order to provide for the long haul, the long term, we need to depend on a steady stream of funding."

"We consider this as a down payment towards moving to address our housing issues in the North," said Tootoo. "We look forward to working with the federal government to identify a more long-term, steady, reliable funding to continue moving forward."

While billions of dollars are needed to address critical overcrowding in the North, Kenyon emphasized the importance of keeping realistic goals.

"I think to look at simply the dollar value misses a bit of the point," he said. "To simply throw more money out and require this to happen faster, we may not have the labour capacity."

The $200 million in funding "allows us to start and it allows each territory to deal with the labour issue and speed in its own right," Kenyon added.