2025 Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut—Public Housing in NunavutOpening Statement to News Conference

Andrew Hayes, Deputy Auditor General of Canada—26 May 2025

Good afternoon. I'm Andrew Hayes, Deputy Auditor General of Canada. I'm pleased to be here to discuss the Auditor General's audit report on public housing in Nunavut, which was tabled in the Legislative Assembly earlier today.

The audit examined whether the Nunavut Housing Corporation provided Nunavummiut with equitable access to suitable public housing and whether it managed the adequacy of the territory's public housing inventory.

Nunavut is facing a severe housing crisis. The high costs of home ownership and the scarcity of options, combined with the socio-economic challenges faced by Nunavummiut, make it difficult for many to find homes. More than 60% of the population relies on subsidized housing. Waitlists for this type of housing are long, and many units are overcrowded.

We found that the corporation did not provide equitable access to public housing units. It did not monitor whether local housing organizations followed its guidelines to prioritize applicants with the greatest need for public housing. The corporation also did not review and verify all public housing unit allocations to ensure equitable access.

We also found that the corporation's oversight of the waitlists in the territory's 25 communities was poor. These lists are meant to document and track the demand for public housing and the needs of applicants, including those of adults 60 years or older and people living with disabilities. Without this information, the corporation was unable to determine the demand for accessible public housing.

The audit also examined how the corporation managed the overall condition of the territory's public housing inventory. This is important because poor housing conditions can affect the health and well-being of Nunavummiut and the long-term sustainability of the corporation's inventory. According to Statistics Canada's 2021 census, about one third of Inuit in Nunavut reported that they lived in homes requiring major repairs-for example, repairs to plumbing and electrical work or structural repairs to walls or roofs.

We found that the corporation did not effectively manage the condition of its public housing inventory. It used separate information systems to track information, such as unit build dates, condition ratings, and maintenance activities. Because these systems were not integrated, the corporation was unable to consolidate and track information to support informed decision making and the effective management of the inventory.

We also found that the corporation did not monitor whether preventative maintenance was completed. A lack of preventative maintenance could result in unsafe public housing and lead to higher costs in the future. Inspections of the condition of public housing units should happen every 2 years. We found that as of March 2024, inspections, on average, dated back to 2018, making them 6 years old.

In October 2022, the government and the corporation launched the Nunavut 3000 Strategy to address the housing shortage. The aim was to build 3,000 housing units by 2030. Of those, the corporation committed to delivering about 1,400 public housing units, at an estimated cost of $1.2 billion.

We found that the corporation did not clearly communicate its progress toward achieving its targets and that it faces challenges in meeting them. These challenges include difficulties in securing land and uncertain future funding levels.

Access to housing has a strong impact on quality of life. The government must act to provide Nunavummiut with access to suitable public housing, giving priority to those most in need.

Thank you. I am now ready to answer your questions.

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