Latest news with #HousingNWT
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
'A devastating blow': Yellowknife man out of options after accessible housing project fails
Social Sharing Brian Carter is packing up 26 years of memories at his Yellowknife home. Carter, who is chair of the N.W.T. Disabilities Council, hoped to move into a long-awaited accessible housing project, until it was put on hold. "It's just very emotional, very tough," Carter said. Carter, his wife and another family member they live with are all disabled. Because of his deteriorating health issues and also a lack of accessible housing for his family, he has to leave the N.W.T., he said. "We had discussed about the possibility of moving into that home. And now I'm forced to make a major move on our own, disabled, with three of us disabled," Carter said. Since 2020, the disabilities council and Housing N.W.T had been working on a 45 to 50-unit apartment housing project in downtown Yellowknife. The goal was to create affordable housing tailored to the diverse needs of people with disabilities. The council had secured funding and a sub-lease on a plot from the territorial government. In February, the territory informed the council they wanted to use the land for another project and proposed other sites. But due to disagreements, the partnership fell apart. 'There's nothing available for them up here' Carter said they had worked on architectural designs and fundraising for the past five years. For him, the project would have meant greater security and stability. "My health is going down. I've got heart problems. I've gotten diabetes. My legs need to be amputated. I had cancer surgery last year that after a long delay, I was running my business while hooked up to a catheter ... yeah, it became very personal to me," Carter said. With the project in limbo, Carter said people with disabilities will continue to struggle with the lack of a housing solution. "People will continue to be transferred to institutions down south because there's nothing available for them up here." Carter said. "It's going to mean they're losing their contact with their communities, people lose their sense of dignity, and you know as disabled people that's a big thing is to be able to live in dignity." In an emailed statement, Housing N.W.T said the council didn't meet the deadlines under their lease agreement. "As milestones in the original lease agreement were not met ... Housing N.W.T. met with the NWTDC and expressed our interest in moving ahead on a more imminent housing project," the statement read. Carter disagrees with this. "We met every milestone ... I asked them to provide the proof of that, provide their letters to us requesting certain milestones." CBC News reached out to Housing N.W.T again, but didn't get a response by deadline. Significant need Charles Dent, the N.W.T. human rights commissioner, calls the situation a setback for people with disabilities, as there's a significant need that is not being met. "It certainly affects people's human rights in the broader scheme of things. If you take a look at the UN Declaration, it's certainly an issue that would show up there." With the project on hold, Dent said this means conditions for people with disabilities in the North won't improve any time soon. Marie-Josée Houle, Canada's federal housing advocate said there is a huge lack of accessible housing for people with disabilities which is "quite amplified for people in Canada's North." "People with disabilities face financial hardship, unsafe housing and the lack of supports and services at a far higher rate," Houle said. "Basically this is unacceptable," she added. Houle said policies should be made around people living with disabilities by keeping them central in discussions. Carter said the collapse of this project is more than just bureaucratic. "It's a devastating blow to people living with disabilities in the Northwest Territories who remain chronically underserved across housing," Carter said. Carter said he feels sad for the people of the North, and that another project like this could take another 10 years.
CBC
4 days ago
- General
- CBC
Yellowknifers disappointed as long-awaited accessible apartment complex put on hold
The goal was to create housing tailored to the diverse needs of people with disabilities. After five years, Housing NWT and the NWT Disabilities Council have parted ways. As Nadeer Hashmi reports, that's left many deeply disappointed.
CBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Accessible housing project falls apart after disagreement between Housing N.W.T. and disability council
Social Sharing The chair of the N.W.T. Disabilities Council says a failed housing project with the territorial government is a blow to the equality and dignity of people with disabilities. Since 2020, the disabilities council has been working with Housing N.W.T. on a housing development in downtown Yellowknife that would provide accessible and affordable living for people with disabilities. The council secured funding from the federal government, a $1-million investment from De Beers and a sub-lease on a plot of land from the territorial government. Council chair Brian Carter said the project began to unravel in February, when Housing N.W.T. and the territorial government informed the council they wanted to use the land for another project. He said they've now lost trust in Housing N.W.T. as a result. "It's a devastating blow to the people living with disabilities, including myself, in the Northwest Territories, who remain chronically underserved across housing, health care and social services," he said. Housing N.W.T. proposed five other sites — four of which the council said were out of the question because they didn't have proper access to transit or parking. The council accepted the fifth site, across from the Yellowknife Catholic School Board at the corner of 49 Street and 52 Avenue. They entered into a similar lease agreement, with the requirement that the disabilities council complete the building within five years — but the council's funding couldn't be applied to the new property. "We lost $1,000,000 in corporate funding from De Beers, [who has] permanently withdrawn, hundreds of thousands in CMHC [the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation] investments were forfeited, all pending funding applications were frozen or withdrawn, future [public-private] partnerships are now jeopardized, and years of design, architecture and feasibility planning were wasted," Carter said. He said they hope to eventually revisit the project, but without their funding, it wouldn't be possible to build on a five-year timeline. Carter called the project's failure a betrayal. "This project was never just about construction. It was about dignity, equality and justice," Carter said. "Accessible housing is not a luxury, it's a human right." Housing N.W.T. declined an interview but said in an email that the N.W.T. Disabilities Council wasn't meeting milestones in the original lease agreement, though it did not specify which milestones it was referring to. It said due to that, and to the council's timeline being "longer term", it met with the council to express interest in "moving ahead on a more imminent housing project" and finding a new site for the council's project. "We regret that the N.W.T. Disabilities Council is opting not to proceed with their project," spokesperson Jeanne Gard said in the email. "Since 2020, Housing N.W.T. has worked closely with the N.W.T. Disabilities Council to ensure the Council had the necessary land available through a structured lease agreement to support their efforts in working with their funding partners." The statement added that Housing N.W.T. didn't want the plot of land to stay empty "for a protracted period of time during the well-documented housing crisis in Yellowknife and the rest of the N.W.T." Housing N.W.T. wrote that it's demonstrating its support of people with disabilities by investments in duplexes designed for seniors and by making 25 units in a Yellowknife building currently under construction"barrier-free". "While a mutual agreement was not reached, we remain open to future collaboration with the N.W.T. Disabilities Council and we will continue to advance inclusive housing projects across the territory." It added that aside from land, Housing N.W.T. had also reimbursed the council for any out-of-pocket costs tied to the original location. In its own response to that, the disabilities council called Housing N.W.T.'s response "an inaccurate narrative." Council CEO Denise McKee described Housing N.W.T.'s statement as an attempt to "justify their failure to honour [the] commitment to the project and the spirit of the sub-lease".
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Housing N.W.T. rent hikes higher than suggested, some tenants say
Some tenants in Housing N.W.T. units say their rent is going up by more than what the territory has suggested. Housing N.W.T. this spring raised the rent on its market-rate units across the territory, by hundreds of dollars. Those units are used on in smaller communities where housing options are limited, for nurses, teachers, RCMP, other critical workers and community members. One teacher working in the Sahtu points out that Housing N.W.T. has said the highest rent increase in the territory was $500 for a three-bedroom unit — but the price of his one-bedroom unit has gone up by more than that. "They're saying the top end is lower than what they've increased mine and all my neighbours," the teacher said. CBC News has agreed not to name him due to fears of reprisal in relation to his housing and living situation. CBC News has seen multiple documents from several teachers that show significantly higher rents than what's in Housing N.W.T.'s new rent scale. Tenants began learning of the rent increases last month. The news prompted considerable reaction, especially from teachers, who occupy many of the market units. Housing N.W.T. owns and leases both market-rate units and subsidized units but only the market units are seeing a rent increase. The territory's housing minister has said the rent increases were a difficult but necessary move to maintain fairness in the housing market, and said the additional revenue is needed because of declining federal support. The Sahtu educator has a one-bedroom unit and his rent is going up from $1,240 to $1,937, an increase of $697. That does not include power costs. According to Housing N.W.T.'s new rent scale, a unit of that size would should now be $1,437, which includes the cost of heating fuel. In a statement to CBC News, Housing N.W.T. says it cannot discuss individual rental rates, but said the rent scale prices only include heating fuel and not other expenses. It said there are also "special arrangements when other utilities are included in the rent," such as in a multi-unit building where water is not individually metered. Those "special arrangements" appear to mean exactly $500 on top of the rent scale increase for some tenants. In those units, Housing N.W.T. is responsible for heating fuel, water, sewer and garbage. The Sahtu teacher said the increases and additional costs could be the tipping point for whether he decides to stay in the North. "Long term it doesn't make sense," he said. He says it's the same for some of his co-workers. "Another teacher was on the fence about staying. Their roommate left and because the rent has been increased so much, it's just not worth risking not having a roommate to split what is now unaffordable," the teacher said. He's also puzzled by the new market-rent scale being the same across the territory. He said he often hears politicians and organizations talk about how communities vary across the territory and there's no single approach that works for all of them. "When it suits their purposes they can say that rent needs to be set to market rates. But how can [my community] be charging the same amount as a place 1,000 kilometres away, on the ocean?" Some tenants are also perplexed by the territory's claim that rental rates have remained unchanged for its market units since 2012. Some of those tenants received notices saying the last increase for their rental unit was in 2014, 2016, or 2019. Asked about those apparent increase, Housing N.W.T. did not comment but said that it encourages tenants to "contact their local housing organization should they require further clarification on their rental situation."
CBC
15-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Housing N.W.T. rent hikes higher than suggested, some tenants say
Some tenants in Housing N.W.T. units say their rent is going up by more than what the territory has suggested. Housing N.W.T. this spring raised the rent on its market-rate units across the territory, by hundreds of dollars. Those units are used on in smaller communities where housing options are limited, for nurses, teachers, RCMP, other critical workers and community members. One teacher working in the Sahtu points out that Housing N.W.T. has said the highest rent increase in the territory was $500 for a three-bedroom unit — but the price of his one-bedroom unit has gone up by more than that. "They're saying the top end is lower than what they've increased mine and all my neighbours," the teacher said. CBC News has agreed not to name him due to fears of reprisal in relation to his housing and living situation. CBC News has seen multiple documents from several teachers that show significantly higher rents than what's in Housing N.W.T.'s new rent scale. Tenants began learning of the rent increases last month. The news prompted considerable reaction, especially from teachers, who occupy many of the market units. Housing N.W.T. owns and leases both market-rate units and subsidized units but only the market units are seeing a rent increase. The territory's housing minister has said the rent increases were a difficult but necessary move to maintain fairness in the housing market, and said the additional revenue is needed because of declining federal support. The Sahtu educator has a one-bedroom unit and his rent is going up from $1,240 to $1,937, an increase of $697. That does not include power costs. According to Housing N.W.T.'s new rent scale, a unit of that size would should now be $1,437, which includes the cost of heating fuel. In a statement to CBC News, Housing N.W.T. says it cannot discuss individual rental rates, but said the rent scale prices only include heating fuel and not other expenses. It said there are also "special arrangements when other utilities are included in the rent," such as in a multi-unit building where water is not individually metered. Those "special arrangements" appear to mean exactly $500 on top of the rent scale increase for some tenants. In those units, Housing N.W.T. is responsible for heating fuel, water, sewer and garbage. 'Doesn't make sense' to stay in North, teacher says The Sahtu teacher said the increases and additional costs could be the tipping point for whether he decides to stay in the North. "Long term it doesn't make sense," he said. He says it's the same for some of his co-workers. "Another teacher was on the fence about staying. Their roommate left and because the rent has been increased so much, it's just not worth risking not having a roommate to split what is now unaffordable," the teacher said. He's also puzzled by the new market-rent scale being the same across the territory. He said he often hears politicians and organizations talk about how communities vary across the territory and there's no single approach that works for all of them. "When it suits their purposes they can say that rent needs to be set to market rates. But how can [my community] be charging the same amount as a place 1,000 kilometres away, on the ocean?" remained unchanged for its market units since 2012. Some of those tenants received notices saying the last increase for their rental unit was in 2014, 2016, or 2019. Asked about those apparent increase, Housing N.W.T. did not comment but said that it encourages tenants to "contact their local housing organization should they require further clarification on their rental situation."
