Taking ownership: GCC discusses private home ownership

The Grand Council of the Crees is looking to begin a new era for housing within the Cree Nation – one that helps facilitate private home ownership and prevents the type of “mass exodus” that has occurred in response to housing crises in First Nations communities across Canada.

A preliminary one-day session was held in Quebec City September 26 and a second sit down is scheduled for October 20 in Montreal.

Speaking with the Nation, CNG Executive Director Bill Namagoose cited examples of the so-called “urban Indian” – a phenomenon in Canada that has seen over 50% of Indigenous community members move away from their reserves to the city.

“The consequences of not addressing Cree housing now,” said Namagoose, “would be a mass exodus of Crees out of the Cree communities – similar to what’s happened in Manitoba. Look at Winnipeg. Most of the Manitoba Crees have moved to Winnipeg following the housing crisis in their communities.”

Closer to home, Namagoose noted a similar occurrence in Maniwaki.

“You know in Maniwaki, two hours from [Ottawa], there’s 1200 people there but there’s 2500 people on the band list,” he said. “Half of them are gone.”

According to Namagoose, without a shift towards private ownership within Eeyou Istchee for those who have the means, Crees will end up living in Chibougamau, Val-d’Or and Montreal as opposed to their home communities.

“The initiative is to develop a private home ownership program to facilitate high income earners living in Cree communities to purchase their own homes – ideally through mortgages or loans – through bank financing,” explained Namagoose.

Namagoose noted that financing for home ownership on Cree territory is complicated. Since Category 1 land cannot be seized by a bank in lieu of a defaulted payment, banks may ask for other guarantees. However, personal loans are an option for those in good financial standing.

“Some people can get personal loans [to finance a house],” Namagoose said. “The bank trusts this person as an individual. A personal loan has no guarantees but the bank trusts that that person will pay it back.”

Namagoose went on to emphasize that the Cree Nation Government understands that not everyone in Eeyou Istchee can afford to buy a house or even wants to. That’s why part of the housing initiative will include both a subsidy for homebuyers and funding for community-owned housing.

“It’s very expensive to purchase a house so we’re trying to set up some sort of subsidy,” he said. “But the majority of the cost should be borne by the owner.”

Namagoose recognized that the Cree needed high levels social assistance in the 1960s and 1970s. But times have changed.

“Now the Cree communities have become more prosperous and advanced,” he said. “Now we have an opportunity to create private home ownership. The economic situation of the Cree is much different today. That’s why there’s a need for private home ownership, and that will be facilitated by the Cree Nation Government and local chiefs and councils.”

The CNG organized the housing meeting so that they could work with the Cree communities to decide how to implement and deliver this new approach. Ultimately, the goal is to create Eeyou Istchee’s own real estate market, where homes will be built, bought and sold for fair-market value.

“We are going to work with the Cree communities on how that’s to be delivered,” said Namagoose. “The mechanism, that’s what these meetings with the Cree chiefs are about.

“Crees have managed to retain 95% of their people in the Cree communities, which is a great accomplishment,” he concluded. “I used to tell people during the Paix des Braves days, during our community meetings, ‘Imagine if half of the people here for this meeting were gone?’

“That’s why we’re trying to create some economic and social stimulus in Eeyou Istchee. Because if we don’t, people will leave.”