NU 3000 Tour with the Premier and the Minister

MEDIA RELEASE

Apr 12, 2024

NU 3000 Tour with the Premier and the Minister

Premier P.J. Akeeagok toured an 18-plex being built by NCC Development Ltd. with Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Gary Anandasangaree, while the federal minister was in Iqaluit to make a pre-budget announcement recently. The 18-plex is part of the Igluliuqatigiingniq Nunavut 3000 project and is nearing completion.

Nunavut 3000 aims to help address the housing crisis for Nunavut’s growing population and involves the construction of 3000 homes by 2030. All 25 Nunavut communities will see new housing. This is a multiyear collaboration between the Nunavut Housing Corporation (NHC) and NCC that allows for rapid change in the territory while keeping construction costs low and maintaining high quality standards.

NCC president and CEO Clarence Synard welcomed the opportunity to speak to Minister Anandasangaree and Premier Akeeagok about the project. Synard explained the company is incorporating new technologies into the builds in order to maximize the number of units that can be constructed.

A wholly Inuit-owned company, NCC also announced a partnership with Maikigiaqta to train Nunavut Inuit in the construction trades. It allocated 4.9 million over six years for this project. These opportunities will help ensure Inuit can purchase items, such as hunting equipment, that will allow them to participate in traditional activities such as hunting and trapping. It also offsets the high cost of living in the territory. The training will be conducted in Inuktitut and English. Local workers are essential to ensure that the project provides the most impactful benefit for Nunavut. “We are putting a big emphasis on attracting employees at the local community level and having them engaged in the process, as well,” said Synard. “So, obviously we are hiring local first — we are hiring Inuit beneficiaries first, combined with current staff that we already have.” Training programs are being conducted in the communities where the builds occur as many individuals are unable to travel for career opportunities. The housing itself is a necessity. Nunavut has some of the lowest vacancy rates nationwide and many individuals cannot afford housing without assistance. In 2020, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated determined that 37 per cent of the territory's population either had insufficient or inadequate housing. This causes a bottleneck for Nunavut’s growing population, an estimated 54,000 individuals by 2043. Since 2017, Nunavut has been Canada’s fastest growing economy with an average growth of 8.5 per cent per year. Meeting the housing demands ensures that this growth isn’t stymied by a lack of housing. Inuit are not seeing the benefits of Nunavut’s economy the way they should. Nunavut 3000 and the NCC/NHC partnership ensures that these training and construction initiatives benefit the territory’s population, the majority of which is Inuit.