OTTAWA – A Senate committee is warning that an acute Inuit housing crisis will only get worse unless the federal government makes swift changes to how it funds housing in the North.
In a report released today, the Senate committee on Aboriginal Peoples calls on the Liberals to provide funding directly to Inuit groups where appropriate to help build homes for those in need, rather than see the money tied up in red tape by directing it through provinces and territories.
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The committee also says the government must free up more money for housing in the North, where construction and living costs are already high, and make the funding stable so local officials can make long-term plans.
Housing funding has flowed in a “boom-bust” pattern, the committee members said Wednesday, making it harder to establish a concrete housing plan in northern communities over the long-term.
“Sadly we learned that the housing crisis is only getting worse,” said Sen. Lillian Eva Dyck, chair of the Senate committee.
The committee prepared the report after travelling to various Inuit communities last year. The report doesn’t say just how much money is needed to address a growing housing shortage that has led to overcrowding, substandard homes and a lack of affordable and suitable housing options that has put many Inuit families on the verge of homelessness.
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The report says that up to 15 people can be crammed into small and crumbling three-bedroom units in many Inuit committees.
Overcrowding has helped lead to higher levels of domestic violence and abuse and health problems that include tuberculosis infection rates 250 times higher than in the non-indigenous population.
The Liberals are expected to release a promised national housing strategy in the coming months aimed at bringing down the cost of home ownership and rental units across the country.
-With files from Global News
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