National non-profit approves over 70 Indigenous-led housing projects with federal funds

More than 70 Indigenous-led housing projects across Canada have been approved by a national organization that is encouraging a for-Indigenous, by-Indigenous approach to the country's housing crisis.

The initiative comes through National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Incorporated (NICHI), which received more than $280 million from the federal government to distribute to non-profit Indigenous-led housing organizations across Canada. 

Members of NICHI and recipient organizations joined Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu in Thunder Bay on Monday to announce the successful applicants in northern Ontario, which include:

• The Reverend Tommy Beardy Memorial Family Treatment Centre, which is receiving $10 million to construct 134 smart homes in Thunder Bay.
• Seven Generations Education Institute in Kenora, which is receiving $10 million to build 68 student, family and transitional housing units with on-site support.
• Kekekoziibii Development Corporation in Kenora, which is receiving $8.7 million to buy 20 acres of land and build 24 affordable housing units with wraparound services.
• The Fort Albany Women's Shelter in Timmins, which is receiving $1 million to purchase and renovate a large house as a new shelter.

A fifth northern Ontario project is expected to be announced by Nipissing—Timiskaming MP Anthony Rota on Tuesday.

In total, more than 3,700 housing units are being built with this funding in Canada. The money was earmarked in the 2022 federal budget and transferred to NICHI last June.

"This decision to take a chunk of money and transfer it to a not-for-profit Indigenous-led organization to say: 'You make the decisions, you decide' …  this was a transformational decision on behalf of the Government of Canada because it's never been done before, not for Indigenous peoples," said Hajdu.

John Gordon, CEO of NICHI, said Indigenous housing providers have spent decades advocating for communities to make their own housing decisions.

"We believe in funding communities and allowing them to identify their own solutions — and I think everybody acknowledges that when a community identifies a priority and a community identifies a solution, it's very successful normally," Gordon said.

'We clearly need to do more'

NICHI saw 447 applications, amounting to more than $2 billion in funding requests — a far-cry from the $280 million it had to work with. The organization created a project selection advisory council to decide which projects to prioritize on a needs-basis.

"There are a number of projects that are sitting there waiting for money and waiting for a green light to go across the country — so we just need the money," Gordon said.

Justin Marchand, CEO of Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, said he's grateful for Ottawa's support, but agrees that more funding is needed to meet the needs across the housing continuum. 

"We clearly need to do more," Marchand said. "Investments in health care don't matter if you don't have a home. Investments in education don't matter if you don't have a home. Investments in safety don't matter if you don't have a home. Investments in employment don't matter if you don't have a home."

Promoting intergenerational prosperity 

Hajdu said it's no accident that Indigenous people are over-represented in the shelter system; the 2022 Census shows that while Indigenous people make up five per cent of Canada's population, they comprise more than 33 per cent of shelter users.

"Colonialism has resulted in Indigenous peoples struggling and suffering tremendously as a result of a colonial policy of this country that in many ways, we're still trying to unpack and undo and heal from," Hajdu said.

In looking at the diverse range of housing projects being funded through NICIHI, "it's our job as non-Indigenous people, as members of governments of all levels, to do what we can to empower that self-determination," she said.

The federal government's 2023 budget committed $4 billion over seven years, beginning in 2024-25, to implement the Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy and also create a National Indigenous Housing Centre.

NICHI does not currently offer funding for home ownership programs, and Gordon hasn't seen a strong appetite for them in the communities he works with. That, he said, is something he'd like to see change moving forward.

"We want to create an environment where urban, rural and northern Indigenous people see home ownership in [their future]," he said.

"When that happens, we can see the transferring of intergenerational wealth that non-Indigenous people have enjoyed, rather than the transfer of intergenerational trauma, which we've had for years."

Meanwhile, the NDP critic for Indigenous Housing welcomed Monday's announcement, saying it happened in part due to NDP pressure on the government. 

"Today's announcement is a step in the right direction and wouldn't have happened without New Democrats using our power," MP Blake Desjarlais said in a statement issued Monday. "First Nation, Metis, and Inuit living across Canada, and in particular Urban areas, are disproportionately impacted by the housing crisis and need immediate for-Indigenous, by-Indigenous housing solutions that include supportive services.

"This funding that we fought for is a meaningful step toward real solutions that will make a real difference."