The Department of National Defence says it has taken ownership of 189 Yellowknife housing units as Ottawa’s public works arm continues handing off NWT property.
The latest transfer isn’t expected to make much difference to anyone outside the federal sphere and isn’t understood to have opened any new housing to the market.
DND said it was acquiring the Crown-owned units from Public Services and Procurement Canada, which has spent years working to offload housing it owns in at least six NWT communities.
In some places, like Fort Simpson, that process has led to concern that federally owned housing is lying vacant when it could be sheltering someone on a waiting list.
In Yellowknife, DND said it was working “to ensure a seamless transition and uninterrupted housing services” for Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP members and families who occupy the units.
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The Canadian Forces Housing Agency assumed control of the Yellowknife units on November 1, DND stated in a news release.
“This acquisition represents an important step in DND’s long-term commitment to supporting the North, including its role in supporting CAF operations related to Nato and Norad,” that statement continued.
Various northern communities are hoping to be selected as “northern operational support hubs” after Ottawa promised this year to invest more than $200 million in infrastructure upgrades that enhance Canada’s Arctic military presence.
Separately, a new Canadian Rangers headquarters is being built in Yellowknife’s Engle Business District with $136 million in federal funding.
The 9,200 square-metre building will also house “elements of Joint Task Force North,” Ottawa said earlier this year, as well as offices, classrooms, a hall and “space for vehicle maintenance and warehouse storage.”
