Nearly seven years ago, I spoke with the former CEO of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation on stage in front of over a thousand community housing professionals. He told us that he would have positive news for urban Indigenous housing and that good things would be happening soon.
I’m still waiting.
For more than a decade, the Indigenous community housing professionals who build and manage non-profit housing for Indigenous People have been pushing for a fully funded national urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing strategy.
We’re still waiting.
In fact, eight years after the federal government published a National Housing Strategy, Indigenous People are still waiting at the back of the line. And just as our “turn” is coming, and a portion of promised funds is scheduled to make its way to communities, the door is slamming in our faces.
To date, the government has made a series of first step investments into an Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy, but they fall far short of their own National Housing Council’s recommendations to meet the true need. To make matters worse, not one single dollar of the $2.8 billion committed in the 2023 federal budget has made it to our communities.
The long overdue funding has been repeatedly stalled by a bungled RFP process. Not a single home has been created due to delays with releasing the committed funds, and hundreds of shovel-ready projects will now likely lose another construction season.
In the meantime, children, youth, families, Elders, and individuals with complex health requirements are suffering systemic and intergenerational poverty. Indigenous People are disproportionately impacted by the housing crisis. Over 80% of Indigenous households in Canada live in urban, rural, and northern locations, and over 171,000 of them are in core housing need – unable to afford market rate homes or towering rents. Indigenous People are also 13 times more likely to experience homelessness than non-Indigenous People. This constitutes an unacceptable injustice that remains a significant barrier to true reconciliation.
Canada’s United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) Act requires the government to implement UNDRIP in cooperation with Indigenous Peoples. That’s part of the reason why, two years ago, Indigenous leaders created a new national non-profit organization that is custom-designed to administer and deliver federal funding to community-based organizations. Indigenous-led non-profits have over 500 years of collective experience in successfully developing and managing affordable community housing.
Consistent with UNDRIP, we have advocated for a “for-Indigenous, by-Indigenous” solution to housing inequity.
We have the capacity, the tools, and the know-how to get it done. Evidence shows that every dollar spent on Indigenous housing creates a return on investment of $6.49, driving economic development forward and reducing reliance on government services.
Yet still, the committed funding has not been released.
The case for government action is clear, especially as we face new economic uncertainty with Canada’s trading partners.
Housing plays a pivotal role in public safety, health care, and overall societal well-being. It’s important to recognize that, much like the pandemic, the looming tariffs and current economic uncertainty will hit those most vulnerable the hardest, and even more people will end up homeless if swift action is not taken.
So, the question must be asked – why are Indigenous Peoples yet again left at the back of the line? Why are those first in need, last to get help? Why are we still waiting?
It’s time to stop keeping Indigenous People in the dark and start delivering results.
— Margaret Pfoh is the Board President of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA) and the CEO of the Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA)