The Government of Canada and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) are combining to invest nearly $30 million to construct 21 new housing units in Nunavut.
The federal government’s Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) will provide $17.9 million while the QIA will put up $11.9 million, according to an Oct. 3 news release.
The housing units will be erected in Grise Fiord, Resolute Bay, Clyde River, Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet, but it was not specified when they will be built.
The units in question, all rentals, will “include a mix of affordable, accessible, four-bedroom detached units and three-bedroom semi-detached dwellings designated for Indigenous residents and women,” the news release states.
“Through the Rapid Housing Initiative, we are quickly providing new affordable homes for people who need them most, including for Inuit communities in Nunavut,” said Sean Fraser, minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities. “This investment will provide a mix of affordable and accessible units for those who need it the most. Today’s announcement shows what is possible when governments and our housing partners work together to give people a place to call home.”
QIA President Olayuk Akesuk added, “QIA is proud to play a role in addressing the housing crises in Nunavut. Positive working relationships are essential along with the continued investment towards improving the infrastructure gap in Canada’s Arctic. An additional $18 million in funding, added to our $134 million affordable housing project, will ensure more homes are being built.”
The RHI was launched in 2020 by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, under the Government of Canada’s National Housing Strategy, with the objective of supporting “the country’s most vulnerable,” according to the news release.
So far, the federal government has invested $4 billion in the program nationally.