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HAY RIVER RESERVE
Six houses have been sitting vacant on the Hay River Reserve for seven years.

A March 22 forum on the reserve addressed the question of what will be done with the houses, which belong to the NWT Housing Corporation (NWTHC).

Chief Roy Fabian of K'atlodeeche First Nation said there is plenty of need for housing on the reserve, but applicants must fall within a certain criteria to access the homes.

"None of our people meet those criteria," said Fabian. "Some of these houses are heated and they are just sitting empty."

According to the NWTHC, its PATH (Providing Assistance for Territorial Homeownership) program is intended to help clients by providing partial funds for purchasing or constructing an affordable home. According the criteria for this program, an individual's income must fall below a Core Need Income Threshold (CNIT) in their community.

Fabian said, over the past seven years, no one on the Hay River Reserve has fallen within the necessary income bracket, or banks won't lend money to supplement the housing funds because the homes are located on the reserve.

The chief said the houses are needed, since there are now many multi-family dwellings on the reserve.

"Based on a full-time income, you have to be making so much money, but you can't be making too much," he said. "The problem we have is employment is not good on the reserve. It's hard for full-time jobs."

The last meeting held between the band and the NWTHC was in September 2011.

Fabian said, since then, the First Nation has met with several ministers and government officials, and all offered assurances the issue of the vacant homes would be addressed.

So the forum was set up, and NWTHC and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation were invited.

Neither sent a representative, said Fabian.

However, representatives from the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) did attend. They said they would try to help the band resolve this issue within the next six months.

Caroline Dennill, acting director for Indian and Inuit Services with the department, submitted this statement: "AANDC is currently in the process of working with the K'atlodeeche First Nation to establish land tenure for the lots on which six houses were built on the Hay River Reserve. This involves a designation process which will enable the reserve lands to be designated for leasing. The designation process would require the endorsement of chief and council and a community vote."

The NWTHC has not been paying leases or taxes for the six houses.

Around 30 people attended the forum, including band council and community members, and it wasn't all doom and gloom. It also featured presentations on how people can access funding for homes, programs like the federal government's First Nations Housing Market Fund, if all other avenues have been exhausted.

"So there is some interest there, but it's just frustrating for us," said Fabian.

"These six houses are taking up space and there is no lease being paid on the land. If they did that anywhere in NWT, they would have to pay taxes for the land they're sitting on."

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