NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Teachers in the Northwest Territories say they need the same staff housing arrangements as other workers providing essential services in the territory.
This can leave new teachers vulnerable to landlords charging exorbitant prices for inadequate housing, fuel costs exceeding what was anticipated before moving to the territory and deplorable living conditions, said three teachers interviewed by News/North.
Editor's note: The names of the teachers in this story have been changed to protect their identity.
"You're kind of left to the honesty and integrity of whoever it is you're renting from," said Danny, one NWT teacher. "Then you get here and it's a lot different than what they say," he said.
Principals and other staff are often the ones who assist newly-hired teachers to arrange accommodations, providing a list of the names of property owners in the community, said the teacher.
"When I got hired, they sent me three different phone numbers," he said. "They just tell you what you want to hear. Then you come up kind of blind."
Danny said he moved to the territory last summer before starting the school year and shared a house with another teacher. The pair split the $1,000 rent.
He said during preliminary discussions with his landlord before he arrived, he was assured heating fuel would cost about $500 to $700 per month. Instead, Danny said he often paid more than double that amount.
"When it wasn't cold, it wasn't bad," he said. "All of a sudden it got to -45 C and we're pumping over $1,600 a month in fuel."
Danny also said the house's furnace broke down twice and pipes froze and burst, leaving the house without water or toilets for a week each time.
As a result, the teacher and his roommate had to walk to the community's school every time they needed to use the bathroom, shower or do their dishes.
Danny's situation is not unique, according to the report.
Quotes from many of the 262 teachers who responded to a survey told of furnaces regularly breaking down, water pipes freezing and bursting and winter drafts blowing through their homes.
One teacher wrote about regularly paying to spend weekends in hotel rooms in order to take showers.
"There are water leaks, broken pipes, terrible insulation. I have had to nail plywood over doors to keep some of the heat in. Our furnace is working at about 70 per cent efficiency and the house is so drafty that I am sure (we) are paying double what we should to heat it. Our current monthly heating bill exceeds 1,000 dollars," the respondent wrote.
"It has gotten to the point where I am paying to stay in hotels on the weekend to enjoy the luxury of running water."
Danny said he believes issues such as these could be avoided if teachers were provided with some form of accommodation arranged through the NWTTA or the GNWT, similar to arrangements already provided to RCMP and medical staff.
"I think the most important thing to get out there is I'm confused as to why there is not housing provided to teachers when housing is provided to other employees of the Government of the Northwest Territories," he said.
Tom, another teacher who is currently working in the NWT, said even having staff housing available on a
temporary basis would allow new arrivals to get acquainted with the community and allow them to make a well-informed decision about permanent housing options.
"Even if it was for a couple weeks, just until individuals coming up got their feet wet in the community and got the lay of the land, then they could make a choice," said Tom.
This arrangement would allow for competition, prompting landlords to better maintain their properties to attract renters, he added.
Tom said while teachers make good salaries in the North, paying high rent prices for inadequate accommodations, paying more for fuel and other household costs than what was anticipated and incurring repair costs if landlords don't fix problems has some teachers reconsidering their decision to live and work in the territory.
Staff housing would help mitigate some of these issues, he said.
"I'm not asking to have free housing. I don't think that's realistic," he said.
"I realize how much it costs to operate a home in the North."
Constantly stressing about their living situations can weigh on teachers, who are then not functioning at their best in the classroom, said Larry, another teacher.
He said inadequate housing can lead teachers to quit their jobs, resulting in high turnover rates and negatively impacting students.
"It fosters a kind of negative attitude in general towards school," he said.
