Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It is really up to the communities to do the self-assessment. When I made reference to looking at communities with 100 housing units or fewer, it was the communities themselves that identified that 75% or more of their homes were in need of major repair or replacement. It reall

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I definitely see the folders going up.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I wish I had a better answer, but I don't. I think you're raising some really important factors. The cost of building materials is another reason the values have gone up, as is the ability of skilled workers to do the builds. There's also the short building season in many of the

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I wouldn't want to discourage the exploration of innovative approaches to funding housing in communities. It's clear that a partnership between indigenous communities, the private sector and the various levels of government is essential, because the needs are great. That said, I

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I would encourage members to look at exhibit 2.5 in our report. This is an area where we looked at the programs through which the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation receives funding to deliver. We found that they allocated funding to regional offices and that the formula for

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think Statistics Canada would give you a better outlay of what they were. It could be population growth, population moving or the need for more housing. The census even points out that indigenous people are four times more likely to live in overcrowded housing, so there would b

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I unfortunately don't have that kind of layer of demographics.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I would point to the two assessments that the Assembly of First Nations did around quantifying what it would take to close the housing gap for first nations communities. I mentioned 2021, which has the numbers we refer to, the $44 billion. When we look at the most recent assessme

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  You're echoing comments we heard from the communities we met when we were doing this audit. They highlighted a few things for us. They said the complexity of the number of programs and the complexity of the applications were a barrier to them accessing funding. They felt that whe

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Their perspective is that a first nations community should determine its needs and then apply for funding. While I'm a hundred per cent in agreement that a first nations community needs to identify its needs, the current approaches are barriers to access, and there is inequitable

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Even this committee, in 2022, provided a recommendation that a comprehensive investment plan was needed in order to fund, at the time, what was seen as a gap to close for housing needs in first nations communities. I have yet to see that. The responses to our recommendations now

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'm not sure I have a better answer than what you've suggested. I think the parties that have the ability to help influence are doing their part. It is now up to the government to develop a plan and to figure out how it will be funded going forward. I just hope that it's done in

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'll mention two things. The first is that I find the current policies and practices that both Indigenous Services Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation are using predate many of the government's current commitments, whether they be commitments to truth and rec

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Our recommendations don't go that far. It's up to the department and CMHC to decide how to manage funds for housing. I will refer you to exhibit 2.6 of our report, where we talk about small communities with fewer than 100 housing units. We wanted to determine whether, on average

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Obviously, if some communities really don't have the capacity to determine housing needs and produce a plan, they would benefit from a multi-year program. There would be greater support for those communities, and this would also ensure that the funding is available. However, thi