First Nation, Ryerson U team up on home scarcity

Researchers are looking to develop plan to address substandard living conditions

Calling the housing crisis afflicting his communities “desperate,” with families doubling up in small houses and people sleeping on floors, Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler is in Toronto this week to oversee the launch of a partnership between his communities and Ryerson University.

“You are seeing the worst of the worst,” he said of the scarcity of homes, substandard living conditions and overcrowding issues that are plaguing 49 Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) communities across northern Ontario.

“I would say we are in a desperate situation.”

The collaboration between NAN and Ryerson’s Together Design Lab seeks to develop a comprehensive housing strategy that will include input from community members themselves about how to best address the crisis.

The federal government’s 10-year, $40-billion housing strategy recognizes Indigenous communities as one of the groups facing the biggest housing problems, but Fiddler said governments develop strategies for First Nations housing with little to no consultation from the communities themselves.

Teams of researchers from Ryerson will conduct several consultations with NAN residents to hear about their needs and develop a plan that reflects their own innovative ideas on how the issues can be best addressed — especially when it comes to allocating funding.

Fiddler said many of the existing challenges are based on geographic complexities, as 32 of the 49 communities are located in remote and isolated areas,

making it hard to access building resources.

Based on 2016 census data, there are nearly 30,000 people living in NAN communities, with about five people on average living in each household (the national average is 2.4), and 49 per cent of housing in need of major repair (compared to a national average of 7 per cent).

On-reserve housing is not subject to provincial or federal building codes or fire safety standards, Fiddler said.

In addition to safety concerns, these conditions often lead to respiratory illnesses and other diseases for the residents, he said.

A Toronto Star investigation last year discovered many homes in Indigenous communities were burning and killing people due to lack of basic building or fire code requirements.

“It doesn’t make sense for any of us to be living in that type of environment,” Fiddler said.

“We always go to these meetings in Ottawa and Toronto and talk about this housing crisis, but in terms of action, you don’t see much.”

Together Design Lab director Shelagh McCartney led a recent pilot study into the ongoing housing crisis in Indigenous communities, and the assembly of chiefs in the Nishnawbe Aski Nation communities passed a resolution to expand the pilot into a full strategy.

She will now be leading her team of researchers on this three-year project, and said the collaboration will allow for a redefining of measures used to create policies for better housing options in Indigenous communities.

“There is no one solution to the housing crisis,” she said, noting the overcrowding issue brings about social implications with far-reaching effects like family stress and mental health.

“If you truly want to fix this housing crisis, you need to be developing metrics and policies that address it on the ground.”

William Olscamp, a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada, said the department supports the Ryerson-NAN initiative.

“The government of Canada is committed to closing the unacceptable housing gap for Indigenous people, and invested $139 million over three years to support construction, renovation and capacity-development in Ontario First Nations housing alone.”