Aboriginal People in Manitoba 2000Chapter 7 : Housing and Mobility |
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On Reserve Housing
We have noted that one half of Status Indians, and 84% of on-reserve Indians, live in Band housing. 41% of this housing is deemed by occupants to be in need of major repairs, compared to 22-23% off reserve outside Winnipeg, 14.5% of Aboriginal-occupied housing in Winnipeg, and 9.6% of housing occupied by non-Aboriginal Manitobans. Census evidence of overcrowding on reserve, however, is far less clear. Census data indicate that 13.8% of reserve residents live in households with two or more persons per bedroom, slightly higher than off reserve situations (approximately 11% for Status Indians in or out of Winnipeg). In the north, overcrowding is actually more in evidence off reserve than on.
Through the 1990s, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) has spent in the range of $150 million annually for on reserve housing nationally, supplemented by about $110 million from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). According to INAC, its housing program was designed to provide subsidies to construction and major renovations projects, but due to restricted private capital.
…the prevailing legal and social limitations have meant that what was supposed to be only a subsidy has become the principle source of construction funding …Reliance on federal subsidies …(has) meant construction of smaller houses. Often these houses were built to minimal standards and not able to withstand severe weather conditions …The lack of community-wide rental regimes on most reserves means that there are few if any resources with which to carry out essential maintenance and repairs. In combination with the often modest initial construction, the result is a housing stock which has deteriorated rapidly.2
INAC funding subsidized construction of 18,000 new homes and renovation of 15,000 existing homes during 1990 to 1995 – a total of 33,000 homes out of 76,000 homes existing nationally on reserve in 1995 were affected.3 There was in effect a 25% increase in the number of housing units on reserve over five years, a rate exceeding the rate of population increase.
An alternate measure for crowding is number of persons per room, as opposed to per bedroom. National figures for 1991 indicated that 11.4% of First Nations dwellings had more than one person per room. While this was eight times the Canadian rate, it was a significant decrease from 20.3% in 1986. In 1994/95, Health Canada reported that:
Recent data show major improvements in housing conditions. In 1994/95, six percent of First Nations dwellings lacked an adequate water supply, and 12% were without adequate sewage disposal, compared to 1986 when over 25% were without adequate water and 33% without adequate sewage disposal.4
Thirty years of “catch-up” housing construction on reserve have, to some extent, alleviated deficiencies in the on-reserve housing supply, and may have contributed to increased population stability and decreased migration to off-reserve locations. However, housing condition and suitability on reserve remain serious concerns.
