New homes sit empty in Wrigley, N.W.T., despite desperate need for housing

People in the small Dene community of Wrigley, N.W.T., want to know why two brand new homes have been sitting empty in their community for more than a year, despite a serious housing shortage.

It's a situation even the N.W.T. Housing Corporation admits doesn't make sense.

The new houses are "market units," reserved for professionals who can afford market rent, which is set at about $1,600 a month.

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'Not proud of what I have here'

Charlie Tale, an elder in Wrigley, has been waiting for a public housing unit for 15 years. He's currently living in a home he built himself almost 30 years ago. The house has a rotten floor, mouldy walls, and doors and windows that no longer close properly.

Tale said that over the past 15 years he's asked the Housing Corporation to help him repair his home, but has always been told he'd have to pay. The latest estimate for repairs was approximately $10,000. Living on a fixed income, Tale said he can't afford it.

"And I got 18 grandkids and I'm proud of myself, to see my grandkids," Tale said.

"But I'm not proud of what I have here. I'm proud my kids all went to school and graduated. I'm an elder now too and I need a good house in case they want to come visit me and I don't want them to come to a house that's all mould[y] so they all get sick and sent away."

D'Arcy Moses, the senior administrative officer of the Pehdzeh Ki First Nation in Wrigley, said he's been inside the empty housing units and they are some of the best houses in the community, with hardwood floors and good appliances. He said he spends a lot of time trying to help people navigate the N.W.T. Housing Corporation, which he calls a "top-heavy, bureaucratic machine." He said it's frustrating to see good housing sit empty.

"The traditional economy still exists here in Wrigley and other First Nation communities, yet they are charging huge rents to people who are transitioning into a Westernized economy, in a community like Wrigley with very few jobs," Moses said.

"So we have people living in houses with mould conditions, and rotting floors and walls, and third-world conditions, yet there are these units around Wrigley that are brand new and empty. And there are even homeless people in Wrigley."

Gov't 'mindset' changing

After becoming president of the N.W.T. Housing Corporation this fall, Tom Williams took a tour of Wrigley and said he also asked why the two homes were empty. He discovered they are "market units" and are reserved for professionals who can afford market rent, which is set at about $1,600 a month.

The Housing Corporation announced a housing engagement survey in January. The resulting 'Strategic Program Renewal' plan could provide a few solutions for people like Charlie Tale.

"We'd be more than pleased to meet with him and see how we can help him because we are changing our mindset," Williams said.

"In the past we have been run as a financial institution. That's all fine and good. We need to look after the money. But at the same time we have to be part of the social solution too.

"Everyone needs a bed and a home, so we are changing our outlook and way we deliver services."

Williams said that as part of their renewal his department will look at providing more financial support to low-wage earners who want to fix up their homes. They will also look at moving the empty market housing units into public housing stock.

However, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation only provides operation and maintenance funding for 2,800 public housing units in the territory, so every time a new unit is added, the Housing Corporation has to remove another, Williams said.   

This week Williams and MLA Caroline Cochrane, the minister responsible for the N.W.T. Housing Corporation, are in Ottawa to meet with federal counterparts and N.W.T. MP Michael McLeod, to talk about, among other things, increasing the number of public housing units in the territory.