Housing fund gives hope and homes to First Nations

October 23, 2015

The first houses to be built on a First Nation in Alberta through the First Nations Market Housing Fund have broken ground on the Siksika First Nation.

“I heard that they were working on it a couple of weeks ago so I went by (yesterday) to see what it looked like and I was excited to see it. It’s always refreshing. There are hopeful signs when you see construction going on,” said Chief Vincent Yellow Old Woman.

The two homes are the latest in an aggressive housing strategy being undertaken by the First Nation to get people into homes after the community was hit particularly hard by the 2013 flood. The Siksika Nation is also providing options for citizens to access financing to purchase and renovate homes.

“When you’ve got a backlog of 600 people and you’re scrambling around with very little funding from the federal government and so you’re looking and trying to be creative, it just makes sense to make something available to them,” said Yellow Old Woman.

The two homes are being built through individual
loans financed through the Bank of Montreal and backed through the First Nations Market Housing Fund. The fund is an innovative initiative established by the federal government to give First Nation members greater access to housing loans on reserve and on settlement lands. In May 2008 the fund received a one-time investment of $300 million from the federal government. This investment, held in trust, has the potential to leverage $3 billion in investments in housing on reserves and on settlement lands and lands set-aside for First Nations across Canada.

Yellow Old Woman is hopeful that the fund will continue operating even with the change in federal government. After all, the fund was a result of the Kelowna Accord, an initiative under Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin.

“We certainly will be advocating for that money to stay there,” said Yellow Old Woman. “This is another creative way that First Nations are trying to meet the needs of our members.”

Without such a fund, he notes, the federal government will have to be willing to provide much-needed money for housing on reserves.

But through the First Nations Market Housing Fund, homes built belong to the member, as it is the member, who needs to get approval from the bank. There are already a number of homes on the First Nation, built through other means, that are owned by members. However, the land remains the property of the First Nation.

“It’s their own home. It’s theirs and they take pride and joy in it,” said Yellow Old Woman. He advised those who were building to design whatever met their needs. “The homeowners want to move in right away. They’re very excited.”

John Beaucage, chair of the trustees of the First Nations Market Housing Fund, agrees.

“It is truly inspiring to be here and feel the joy that comes from building your own home on your own land,” he said. Beaucage attended a ceremony today on Siksika First Nation,to bless the first home financed with a loan backed by the fund.

Seven other members of the Siksika First Nation are waiting for approval to build homes through the fund. Yellow Old Woman anticipates they will be approved.