Mother hopeful to move home as Innu work to tackle Natuashish housing crisis

A young mother in Quebec read through the latest housing announcement in Natuashish with hope, as the chief and council of Mushuau Innu First Nation (MIFN) try to address the longstanding housing crisis in the community while keeping up with its growing population. 

Earlier this week, Chief John Nui announced the band is funding 20 major renovations to existing homes; 35 additional homes will be renovated this summer; two new single family homes will be built this year, 14 residential lots will be cleaned up; construction is completed on five duplexes to house workers; 250 homes will receive new home heating and cooling systems; and a study on a new residential subdivision will be completed this year.

The band has also applied to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for 31 further home renovations and hopes to apply for additional funding through Jordan’s Principle, a new avenue for funding in the wake of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal’s 2021 order that Canada must fund the full cost of “capital assets” needed to support First Nations children and families.

When Valerie Gregoire read the announcement, she became hopeful. “It made me feel excited,” she said. “It’s gonna make a really big difference, in a good way.” A year ago, the mother and her one-year-old child didn’t have a place to live in Natuashish, so they moved to Quebec to stay in her mother’s basement. Now, Gregoire is hopeful she can return home and raise her toddler on Mushuau Innu lands. 

As in many other First Nations communities across the country, overcrowding and mold are longstanding issue in Natuashish. Gregoire says the new and renovated homes could contribute to better mental health outcomes in the community. Over the past three years, the Innu community has built 40 homes, according to the chief.

“My priority will always be the housing issues in our homes, in the community of Natuashish, Nui said. “And this is one of the things that we have been tackling with a lot of help from people, from my staff.” MIFN directors and staff, especially Mary Ann Nui and Ehsan Khan, have been working tirelessly to try to keep up to the housing demand in the isolated community, Nui said. 

“Yes, there is a lot of issues in our community [and] we are working towards addressing them,” the chief added. “That might not solve all the problems, but at least we’re trying to make it happen where kids will feel safe. Parents would feel safe with their kids.”

Developing a new subdivision in Natuashish has been in the community’s plans for a while, Nui explained, referring to the forthcoming study which will help the chief and council move forward with long-term residential development plans. 

In the short-term, the major renovations will include the installation of three new bedrooms and a bathroom in the unfinished basements of dozens of homes, Nui said, explaining the upgrades will allow young parents or teenagers to have their own spaces with a shared kitchen. The chief said he hopes the additional in-home space will help increase self-esteem in the community. 

The work was too extensive for Natuashish construction workers, so two outside contractors have been hired to help complete the work in the community, Nui explained. He hopes the band can get more Innu interested in the trades, and that they will eventually have a full Innu construction workforce to do the work in their community. 

One of the two contractors hired from outside Natuashish is an Innu-owned company, he said. “Maybe they’ll look up to him, and look at him and say, ‘How do you do this? How can we start this, our own company?’” Nui said. “My hope [is that] we have more carpenters and they’re coming in and doing the construction themselves in our community.”

In the future, Nui said the band hopes to apply for more funding through Jordan’s Principle for a new emergency placement home in the community, and family reunification homes to help families who have been separated. 

Gregoire hopes the band will consider young parents, in addition to other demographics, for the renovated and newly built homes. “I really want my own house, like even though I’m so young, even though I just have one kid,” Gregoire said. “We deserve homes too and to not have to wait a long time.”