ITK-TI Press Release * $1.78-million for Urban Inuit Housing Will Build 12 New Units in Ottawa

 

 

November 23rd, 2009 - Ottawa, Ontario - Tungasuvvingat Inuit (T.I.) was granted $1.7 million dollars  to build 12 housing units by early 2011 by the Ontario Government for Inuit living in the Ottawa-Carleton region who are  elderly, disabled, as well as families in need.

 

T.I., which provides a wide range of services for the Inuit community in Ottawa, now has a total of 37 supportive housing units to help Inuit living in urban areas in Ontario. As the national Inuit political organization, ITK supports and works with TI to improve the living conditions for Inuit.   

 

“The Inuit population in the Ottawa-Carleton region is growing at an escalating rate on an annual basis,” said Looee Okalik, President of Tungasuvvingat Inuit. “These 12 new housing units will greatly help Inuit who need transitional housing assistance in Ottawa.”

 

The funding for the project is provided by the Government of Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing under Minister Jim Watson and the Ontario First Nation, Inuit, Métis Urban & Rural Housing (FIMUR) Rental Component Program as administered by the Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services (OAHS).  Their goal is to help address housing needs for Aboriginal people in Ontario.

 

Mary Simon, Board Member of TI and President of ITK stated, “The growing urban Inuit population needs this type of housing support. There are many reasons Inuit come to southern cities such as Ottawa. There is an acute housing shortage in the Arctic communities, for example, some come for work, education, or for health reasons. In some cases Inuit become homeless in Ottawa. These 12 new units will greatly assist Inuit living in the urban area.”

 

Construction on the 12 units is expected to begin in the spring of 2010, and ready for the first new occupants in early 2011.

 

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Morgan Hare, Executive Director,

Tungasuvvingat Inuit                                             

Cell Phone # (613) 266-7755

 

Stephen Hendrie

Director of Communications

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

(613) 277-3178

hendrie@itk.ca