When Justine Okheena brought her newborn baby home to Ulukhaktok last November, the child caught sick in a public housing unit.

The newborn had a runny nose, a cough, and a cold. Okheena suspected the symptoms were the result of the mould lacing a wall in her home. Because water seeped in and soaked the wall each spring, the wall was rotten with it. Now it appeared to be the cause of her newbornSA国际影视传媒檚 sickness.

Concerned, she took her baby to a rotating series of nurses.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 normal. SheSA国际影视传媒檒l get good,SA国际影视传媒� Okheena recalled the nurses saying. SA国际影视传媒淭hey didnSA国际影视传媒檛 do anything about my baby having the cold, or the mould in the house. They just said, SA国际影视传媒榠tSA国际影视传媒檚 normal, sheSA国际影视传媒檒l get over it.SA国际影视传媒橲A国际影视传媒�

The baby didnSA国际影视传媒檛 recover for months, she said. Checkups, and requests for repairs to her home all came to nothing.  It was SA国际影视传媒渇rustrating,SA国际影视传媒� Okheena said.

In a community where about 36 per cent of the housing was in need of repairs in 2019, according to , she was only one of many tenants struggling with her public housing unit.

Housing needs arenSA国际影视传媒檛 met, MLA says

Nunakput MLA Jackie Jacobson shared the frustration.

SA国际影视传媒淭hereSA国际影视传媒檚 so many needs and wants, but thereSA国际影视传媒檚 nothing to be addressed,SA国际影视传媒� he said in an interview.

A planned tour of his constituency with Housing Minister Paulie Chinna was recently postponed to the summer, and he has since grown impatient with the slow pace of action.

In August, in another recent statement, Mayor Laverna Klengenberg wrote a public letter grilling the NWT Housing Corporation over long standing poor housing in her community.

SA国际影视传媒淲hat are we getting?SA国际影视传媒� she told SA国际影视传媒 at the time. SA国际影视传媒淎re they going to fix up the aging units that people have to live with? Why arenSA国际影视传媒檛 we getting a fair shake at whatever we should be getting?SA国际影视传媒�

Family inappropriately housed, mother says

Last year, the NWT Bureau of Statistics reported that about 10 per cent of housing in the community isnSA国际影视传媒檛 considered affordable. Another 10 per cent of units arenSA国际影视传媒檛 considered suitable, meaning the number of occupants in relationship to the number of  bedrooms isn't appropriate.

Okheena described the concerns of another resident who noticed there may be too few occupants in one unit, relative to bedrooms, and too many in another.

In a statement, NWT Housing Corporation spokesperson Cara Bryant said local housing organizations (LHOs) allocate units based on national occupancy standards.

SA国际影视传媒淒epending on the availability of units, some tenants may be under-accommodated or over-accommodated for periods of time.  It is common for LHOs to transfer tenants into appropriate sized units to meet this standard,SA国际影视传媒� she wrote.

Okheena considers her family inappropriately housed. For six people at home, there are three bedrooms, each one the size of a small porch with little room for storage, she said.

Repair crews not to blame, says resident and MLA

Okheena, whose four children are all under the age of seven, said the building itself had serious issues.

Her front door, for one, constantly freezes shut, forcing Okheena to hit it hard and play with the handle to open it. Her windows ice up in a similar fashion.

Long term fixes are tough to come by. When Okheena pointed out the mouldy window she believes contributed to her babySA国际影视传媒檚 illness to a maintenance crew, they changed the window but never finished the job, leaving insulation exposed.

Other repairs saw her wall wiped down with Javex, with the mould lingering underneath.

She also informed housing surveyors her roof was leaking, and they agreed, but nothing was done, she said.

Meanwhile, the aging floor tiles break and the old vent covers won't stay on. It makes her worried for the well-being of her child.

Crystal Ethna Kongayona, another resident, doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 blame the local housing organization, which employs two administrative and three maintenance staff.

SA国际影视传媒淭hey do what they can to help,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒�(It has to) be tough doing one thing after another sometimes, no time for themselves.SA国际影视传媒�

The local housing organization needs more funding to add more workers, and the current ones should be more appreciated, she said, acknowledging the tenantsSA国际影视传媒� frustration.

Bryant said there were no plans to employ more staff, and that current levels are consistent with other local housing organizations in the area.

NWT Housing Corporation wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 aware of any backlog in maintenance work, she wrote, and added that local staff were capable of identifying mould and remediating some types.

For other types of mould, housing corp. can hire a contractor to address the issue, she wrote, adding that tenants SA国际影视传媒渃an also raise their concerns at regular monthly meetings of LHOs.SA国际影视传媒�

Jacobson, meanwhile, attributed the repair shortfall to poor planning.

SA国际影视传媒淚f they have (the materials), theySA国际影视传媒檒l fix it. If they donSA国际影视传媒檛, they canSA国际影视传媒檛. ISA国际影视传媒檓 not blaming nobody. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 just poor planning,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

'Every year, itSA国际影视传媒檚 windows and doors'

Jacobson wants operations and maintenance funding increased, and has additionally considered floating a policy to halt evictions during the winter months to avoid leaving residents out in the cold.

The challenges facing housing in the area have been relatively consistent, he said.

SA国际影视传媒淓very year, itSA国际影视传媒檚 windows and doors. YouSA国际影视传媒檙e changing windows, doors, sewage tanks and fuel tanks. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 the biggest thing (for) housing up here. The funding is not there to do the maintenance in regards to the mould issues that we have up here,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

On average, NWT spends about $22,500 on maintenance per public housing units, according to Premier Caroline CochraneSA国际影视传媒檚 comments in the legislative assembly on Feb. 11. Those costs also contribute to the territorial government is avoiding building up its public housing stock.

Waiting for repairs, Okheena has other concerns SA国际影视传媒� a $200 power bill, expensive diapers and milk. She wants all the prices that contribute to her high cost of living to drop. The expenses are simply too much of a strain.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 kind of hard when youSA国际影视传媒檙e having a newborn,SA国际影视传媒� she said.