FORT WILLIAM FIRST NATION -- Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins says larger families will get priority when houses from a new subdivision on the reserve are doled out to band members later this year.
Collins on Monday presided over a ceremonial sod-turning launching the $1.5-million development, which will see eight new houses built by the end of the current construction season and 21 when the project is completed.
“There hasn’t been a selection process as to who will get the homes yet, but that will be done in the near future,” Collins said.
“They’ll all hand in their applications with their criteria and how many kids they’ve got, where they’re living now – if they have a home or what they’re living in. All those things are taken into factor. Families will be given the priorities, the larger ones with three or four kids. They’ll be given a higher score.”
The new houses are long overdue, Collins said, noting when he was first elected chief in 1998 there were 600 band members. That number has skyrocketed in the past decade-and-a-half.
Too many are without places on-reserve to call home, he said.
“If I had to guess, I’d say there are 100 to 200 people without homes. They’re not all living in the community, they’re outside in urban areas living in cities or different parts of the country and want to migrate back to Fort William where they belong,” Collins said.
“But we can’t house them all.
The 21 lots are located off Little Lake Road and will feature bungalow style homes with crawl-spaces underneath.
They’re being built by eight different developers, including Kateri Banning-Skaarup’s company. She’s looking forward to the opportunity and was impressed with the fact band leadership divided the work amongst eight different builders.
“Being someone who has lived on reserve for a number of years – and most of my family lives on reserve – I see the housing problems we face.
“Especially with the younger generation and the young mothers, they need this,” she said.
Fort William First Nation contributed $204,000 to the project, with the remaining $1.3 million provided through loans and contributions by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Liberal MP Don Rusnak (Thunder Bay-Rainy River), called it a worthwhile investment of federal dollars.
Housing is a problem in First Nation communities, where residents are faced with overcrowding and substandard structures.
“Housing is connected to the social well-being of the community and it’s connected to the justice system and it’s connected to the economy. So this is a great start for the community,” Rusnak said.
