The housing situation in the Cree communities is worsening and there is no end in sight unless drastic changes are made, according to a report submitted to the Annual General Assembly of the Grand Council/CRA in Wemindji.
Many Crees have to live in condemned housing and in many houses there is more than one family per house, says the report. “The overcrowding is acute in most of the communities.”
The report also says about half the houses need repairs and it would cost about $32 million to bring the houses up to Canadian standards.
In Wemindji, there is one house that has four families sharing it. Mistissini has 419 more families than there are houses. One house in the community with only 832 sq. ft. has 16 people living in it.
The report says 65 per cent of the Eastmain population doesn’t have privacy. This is readily shown by the fact that one house is shared by five families.
Chisasibi is a little milder with two houses each having four families as residents. Waswanipi sees 60 per cent of its families living in overcrowded houses. Whapmagoostui has a total population of 564, with 345 people living in houses with more than one family. Waskaganish has 151 housing tenants waiting for some relief.
The total housing backlog shows 1,074 on the waiting listfor housing. The numbers grow each year.
The inspections of the Cree communities took place last year and 100 houses were visited in eight of the communities. In total, there are 1,346 houses in the Cree communities.
The report, prepared by researchers Cristiane Thé and Vir Handa, goes on to give other alarming facts. “Most of these houses—if not all—have only one kitchen and bathroom for multiple family occupancy,” write the researchers.
“One can imagine the turmoil every morning before the children go to school with each mother trying to feed and bathe their own and the adults going to their jobs.”
The report points out that privacy is needed for sanity and good mental health, and this lack of privacy “is the cause of many needless conflicts.”
It warns that the Cree population is young and these young people are growing up, which will create an even greater strain on limited resources in the near future.
The other problem looked at is the high cost of repairs and renovations needed for existing houses. It is estimated that to do necessary repairs and renovations in Nemaska costs $45,000 per house and in Mistissini for the same work it is $43,000. The reason for the high costs is cited as the “heavy wear and tear.”
The report also says the designs of the houses don’t take into account the conditions of the North and severe winters.
At the AGA in Wemindji, a regional housing board was looked at to address some of these problems.
