Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (Sep 13/99) - Manitok Thompson told seven Kivalliq region mayors that social housing is in a state of crisis at a Kivalliq region mayors' meeting Aug. 31-Sept. 3.

As the recently appointed minister of Public Works, Telecommunications, Technical Services and Housing, Thompson agreed with the mayors that lack of housing must be a top priority for the Nunavut government.

"You can't set formula funding by only looking at a few years, which is what the federal government did," Thompson said.

"We have the highest birth rate in Canada. There is a population boom and I don't think they took the forced growth of the population into account when they gave us money to build social housing."

She said there are 600 families currently on the social housing wait list, which translates into about 2,000 people waiting for a home.

"Homelessness in the North is people on a waiting list. The people who are waiting are staying with family members and friends in homes that are overcrowded," Thompson said.

"We need to put ourselves, as the territorial government, in the face of the federal government to get more money for housing. I will direct my staff to find solutions but it all boils down to money, like everything else," she added.

The current regulations surrounding housing, she said, must also be changed. Right now, social housing rental rates are based on how many people in the household are working. If nobody is employed, rent is $32 a month. The more people in a house who have jobs, the higher the rent is.

"That's why people don't want to work. They're saying why should I go to work if I'm going to be penalized?" Thompson said.

"My question to the public is how much is too much to rent a house? We need to know that to determine a fair rate."

She said by hearing the concerns of the mayors, she can keep in touch with their point of view. It was surprising, she admitted, that she was the only minister to attend the mayors' meeting.

"I think they were expecting more ministers, but I was MACA minister before so I'm aware of their issues and I can relay their concerns to the appropriate ministers," Thompson said.

"As for housing, we're looking at the situation and are finding ways to deal with the problem. I've already written a letter inviting all MLAs to meet for two days to talk about housing issues."