Broughton Island (Oct 25/04) - Lisea Atagoyuk, who has been living in a tent in Qikiqtarjuaq with her family since June, owes the Nunavut Housing Corporation (NHC) in Panniqtuuq $5,000 in back rent.

Reached at the Northern Store in Qikiqtarjuaq where she now works full-time, Atagoyuk said she feels bad about this debt she and her family have incurred over the years, but they were simply not able to meet their public housing payments. There just wasn't enough money to go around.

The average rent in public housing is $120 a month. Atagoyuk and her family moved from Panniqtuuq to Qikitarjuaq last summer and have been unable to find a place to live.

Atagoyuk is certainly not alone when it comes to debt owed to the housing corporation, said Abraham Tigilik, an employee of the corporation in Arviat.

The exact amount of debt owed to the NHC is unknown because there is currently no tracking mechanism for arrears and damages said Peter Scott, director of the NHC.

Only audited financial statements tell the story since 1999, and that information is not compiled at this time because they do not have the staff to do it, said Scott.

Scott added that money owed is not actually owed to the NHC, but the local housing organization (LHO) -- in this case, the Panniqtuuq branch of the Nunavut Housing Corporation.

"Rental revenues are a component of each LHO's annual budget," said Scott. "Any shortfalls in rental collections means a shortfall in the LHO operating budget."

Tigilik explained that housing in Nunavut is a complicated issue because it's tied up with the history of Inuit being forced to move off the land and into houses.

Many Inuit were told that they would never have to pay for housing, said Tigilik, "and many people still have that mentality."

Atagoyuk said she is willing to make arrangements with the Nunavut Housing Corporation to pay back what she owes.

"But it's going to take time," she said. "I've got to feed my family, too, buy groceries for my family."

Most LHOs will accept an arrangement for repayment from any tenant that owes them arrears, said Scott. "If they can afford to pay the monthly rent plus $10 towards the arrears, a $5,000 debt would be paid off in 41.6 years," he said.