$60M for accommodation in Nunavut, a ‘down payment’ for territory’s necessities, says minister

Key takeaways: 

• Grant will be divided over two years, assured Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal.
• This week, Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal was in the city to make budget reports.

A new federal grant for housing in Nunavut will support the territorial government in making $60 million worth of houses and infrastructure, states Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal.

Vandal declared the budget Wednesday in Iqaluit, alongside Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok, Iqaluit Mayor Kenny Bell, and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Aluki Kotierk.

He related the funds as a “down payment” for the accommodation and infrastructure necessities in the region. Details of how the grant will be utilized were not provided, but the funds will belong to the Government of Nunavut to be utilized for its most crucial requirements.

The budget is a portion of the federal government’s 2022 budget, of which housing affordability has been the central theme.

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Naming it “the most ambitious plan Canada has ever had” for accommodation, Vandal indicated other investments as an instance of the government’s affirmation to managing affordability, including $845 million over seven years to help housing in Inuit districts across the North.

“I don’t have to tell anyone here of the distinctive challenges faced by Nunavut districts — because of the higher building expenses, the shorter construction seasons, and increasing impacts of climate change,” he stated.

“Every day, Northerners, Nunavummiut, live these effects.”

$825K to make one house

Those higher prices have almost doubled in recent years. A critique by CBC News of Nunavut Housing Corporation contracting information and figures received through access to information bids show the yearly cost per unit for new housing makes in Nunavut sat at about $450,000 in 2018 but grew to almost $825,000 the previous year.

Source – cbc.ca