Growing population faced with housing crisis

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According to government statistics from 1990 show that the average yearly income in Yellowknife was $39,031; $25,881 in Rankin Inlet; $21,033 in Arctic Bay and $14,542 in Pelly Bay. Compare them to the average yearly income for the NWT in 1990: $29,340.

The short story is, affordable housing and the growing Territorial population are fast coming to a head. And solutions must be found.

The human costs will be staggering if housing is only available to the people who can afford it, predicts Lynne Brooks, executive director of the Northwest Territories Status of Women Council.

Blondin-Andrew says the same thing: the lack of social housing contributes to stress, increasing alcoholism, spousal assault, sexual abuse, and other social problems.

By investing in housing now, the government will be saving itself millions on the court system, jails and social services, she says. It has another benefit. The money "could be diverted into the economy rather than into the social safety network," explains Blondin-Andrew.

"What you have is families, three or four generations, crammed into one dwelling. It's a real problem because you have children who are going to school who don't have the space to read, who don't have the space to concentrate. It affects their performance," she says. "You have people who are working in one home who have to get up early at 7:30 in the morning, and people who are not working who can stay up all night. It leads to clashes."

Single mothers and their children suffer the most in the current housing crunch because many are forced out of their homes by an abusive situation, says Brooks. The safe houses are full of single mothers and children who often have no homes to return to, she claims.

Having a home means stability and the chance to get jobs or training, Brooks says, that is why abusive men should be forced out of the home.

Laws should be changed so that abusive spouses are forced to leave the house, instead of women and children seeking escape, Brooks says.

If a single mother has a home, she does not have to worry about housing needs; it also saves her and her children from an over-crowded apartment or house, bunking up with friends and relatives.

A single man has better opportunities at getting jobs and training, than a woman and her children.

"The big issue for women is that they usually are the ones looking after the children, and are the primary care givers. They often end up having to stay in situations that are less than ideal for themselves and their children, where there's violence, where there's drinking," Brooks says.

"If a man is not responsible for the children he can get a job and ultimately make his situation better. A woman is not in that position."

Second-stage housing for women and children who come out of a safe house, is also lacking, Brooks said.

But how can housing problems be solved?

Brooks says community co-operatives could be formed, with journeymen and young men who volunteer to build the homes. This way, the money the Territorial government would usually pump into labor could pay for more materials.

Blondin-Andrew says social housing must be included whens it comes to a Territorial economic strategy. Building houses means business and jobs, and with the many projects that are coming down, such as mining in the North Slave geological province, the mineral rich region between Yellowknife and the Coronation Gulf, more people will probably come north.

And they will need housing.

But the federal government must pay more attention to the problem, she recommends. And it is sure to be an election issue as Canada heads into a probable federal election this fall.

"One thing, for sure, we need houses more than we need helicopters. Let's divert one of those billion dollars worth of helicopters don't "reduce the national debt," Blondin-Andrew adds.

For the north, though, if housing is not grappled with yet, the crisis with reach a flash point very soon.