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NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The territorial government is in the process of overhauling its housing programs and according to Robert C. McLeod, the minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, improving the quality and cost of shelter in the territory is a main priority.

"Housing costs are a significant factor in the cost of living in our territory," McLeod said in a press release June 23. "We know that housing is one of the most important issues in our communities."

The government is now conducting an expansive shelter policy review, which includes workshops with regional and community leaders, as well as meetings with non-governmental organizations that provide housing services and with NWT residents.

Their findings, along with proposed solutions, will be tabled in the legislative assembly sometime after the October election.

The current government has allocated some funding to housing programs, including a $200 million federal-territorial investment for housing infrastructure and a $3 million a year increase for home renovations and repairs, to counter declining funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

The shelter policy review will attempt to find ways to fill the gap in that decreased funding, as well as find solutions for housing infrastructure woes that plague the territory.

John Roland, a 62-year-old Inuvik resident, is one of the many NWT residents who is struggling to find affordable housing.

Last spring he found himself without a home and without enough money to find a new one, so he packed up his things and moved down river to Delta camp, about 58 km from town.

To find work, and then to commute to work, he had to take a boat back to Inuvik. The trip took him an hour and a half each way.

He now rents a room for $700 a month in town and lives with another couple, but said there's "next to nil" in town that he can afford with the wage he earns at the hospital, signing patients in and cleaning.

"I don't make that much," he said.

Roland has been on the waiting list with the Inuvik Housing Authority for three months and is anxious to find a place where he can take in two of his relatives, who are also without permanent shelter in town.

The housing authority, which is part of the NWT Housing Corporation, currently has 78 people on its waiting list. Housing is assigned by need, so those who are homeless or living in tents are bumped up to the top of the list.

"We've got a shortage of houses," said Diana Tingmiak, executive manager of the housing authority. "We've got lots of people who want to get into low cost housing."

Roland wants to see changes in the current system so people like himself don't have to wait several months, or more, to find permanent housing.

"Where I'm sitting now, it's no good, eh?" he said.

In an interview with News/North last month, Tu Nedhe MLA Tom Beaulieu said housing was the "No. 1 issue" in his constituency, and that there should be an increase, not decrease, in funding from the GNWT to address it.

McLeod said the drop in funding is because Ottawa has reeled in the help they give, but added the GNWT was able to cover a lot of ground before that funding stopped.

"We believe with the investment we've had from the federal government, we've addressed a lot of our concerns," he said. "We've been able to make, I think, huge gains."

"I mean, obviously we couldn't address everything. There's still going to be home repairs and we'll have to make do with the $4.6 million unless we can get another infusion of cash from the federal government."

The CARE program (Contributing Assistance to Repairs and Enhancements) received $4.6 million of the budget this year. Last year, the total was $8.4 million.

McLeod estimates they will spend $27 million on housing infrastructure this year, down from $75 million last year.

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