Waskaganish band council reneges on housing assignments for young families

Three young families in Waskaganish are left scratching their heads after being informed by their local chief and council on June 10 that their rent-to-own housing applications initially approved more than a year ago are now being refused.

In spring 2015 the Waskaganish band council approved a rent-to-own program for six new houses now standing on McLeod Street in the community. “The selection process was supposed to be up to the Housing Authority, not the chief and council,” said a mother affected by the decision. She asked the Nation to keep her name anonymous due to the stress these events have caused her and her family.

“A bylaw was passed that gave the Housing Authority the power to decide, they chose who the tenants would be,” she said. “Recently the Housing Authority was abolished and the chief and council are in the process of starting a new housing advisory committee. From my understanding the new committee won’t have the same power, the chief and council will have the final say. And now there is a new chief and new council members.”

Requests for comment from Waskaganish Chief Darlene Cheechoo and other council members were not returned by press time. Cheechoo and council were elected in August 2015.

Each of the families received a letter from the band council with the only explanation for their removal from the program being that their applications were affected by “irregularities.”

“We were called into a meeting last Friday, they were very vague and only brought up a few details that they felt were wrong with the applications,” the disappointed mother explained. “If they had concerns with any of the applications I wish that they would have just come to us and tried to resolve them. I’m disappointed that there wasn’t more communication.”

Friends, family and other community members are calling on council to respect the original agreement. Petitions to that effect are circulating in the community and online with many people in Waskaganish and elsewhere signing on to show their support.

The families, who were informed they can no longer move into the new homes, are listed on a photo of the petition that was widely shared on Facebook. They are: Tiffany Hester and Glenn Katapatuk, Melina Katapatuk and Anthony House, and Shaina Gagnon and Patricio Caceres A. The woman who spoke to the Nation anonymously says all are young couples with children and currently live with other families in cramped conditions.

She added that all three families have already spent thousands of dollars in anticipation of moving into a new home and that the circumstances have taken both a financial and emotional toll.

“We’ve invested so much of our time and energy and money into those houses and it’s very disappointing to just have it end like that,” she said. “I’m hoping for compassion. They’re not just houses; people’s lives are really being impacted here.”

Following the community response the families were invited to attend a meeting with the band council and local Elders on June 14. A few of the tenants were able to share their concerns and have their voices heard but the applications are still up in the air.

“It was good, we were able to voice our concerns and have our voices heard but still nothing has been resolved,” said the Waskaganish resident. “I’m grateful for all of the support. The Elders were very supportive as well, of both sides. I think they understand that it’s a sensitive issue. I don’t know what’s going to happen though. I guess we’re just all kind of waiting still.”

But, she added, “After waiting one whole year to move into those houses, just being told that there are irregularities [in our application] isn’t really enough for us.”

At press time the Nation was informed that Tiffany Hester and Glenn Katapatuk’s situation “has been resolved” and Katapatuk said they have been approved to move into their new home, but declined to comment further.