Nunavut
An external audit shows the Nunavut Housing Trust had a funding shortfall due in part to staff shortages, a flawed budget process and material thefts.

The corporation announced a $50 million shortfall earlier this fall to complete the 285 public housing units.

In a 35-page document prepared by Deloitte and Touche, a southern-based auditing firm reviewing the original budget, the report found no documentation on the original budget process and determined the budget process to be flawed.

The budget didn't factor the increased cost of shipping materials in remote communities, theft and damage of some material and the limited supply of the local labour force, among other things.

Tagak Curley, the minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation, said the report contains useful information for the housing corporation and said he was not surprised by its findings.

"I think it confirms the view by non-cabinet ministers as well as the public that there were weaknesses that should not be ignored anymore," he said. "Some comments, obviously not new but confirm that the housing corporation definitely needs to be strengthened and improved financially."

Staff shortages and a limited number of people in place with the required skills, the corporation's decentralized organizational structure and the balance and adjustment to the changing social and political environment are some of the challenges the report states the corporation faces.

"These inherent risks, if left unaddressed or not adequately mitigated by management, will likely continue to adversely impact NHC (in) achieving its mandate to provide affordable housing," the report states.

Curley said he will ensure the corporation implements the recommendations, adding it has already begun doing so.

"In terms of the project management and cost-control wise, it still definitely has to improve and I think these steps have been accepted and certainly will be dealt with throughout the year," he said.

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