Iqaluit Mayor Kenny Bell announced Monday that he’s forming a task force on affordable housing.
photo courtesy of Kenny Bell
In the coming weeks, interested parties from a number of groups and organizations will be sought to join the task force; among them, the Government of Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Government of Nunavut, Nunavut Housing, Iqaluit Housing Authority, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, Qikiqtani Inuit Association and other interested community members.
Besides Bell, the other founding members of the task force are deputy mayor Janet Brewster, Iqaluit-Manirajak MLA Adam Arreak Lightstone and Laurel McCorriston, the executive director of Uquutaq Society.
“I’m a firm believer that housing is one of Iqaluit’s biggest issues and I ran for mayor to make change. If we can put a dent in our housing issues we will strengthen our core and be on the right track for a successful future,” Bell stated in a news release issued Monday.
McCorriston added, “The city is well placed to deal with the housing issues specific to Iqaluit, to be a force for making lasting change and to bring all the partners to the table. I congratulate the mayor for taking this on and I’m honoured to be a founding member.”
In 2019, the government estimated that close to 4,900 Nunavummiut were on waiting lists for public housing.