How federal support could speed up homebuilding in the NWT

A committee of senators is urging the federal government to make housing more affordable and development more feasible across the country.

Builders in the Northwest Territories say they face different barriers to building than most of southern Canada.

A Senate committee report published last week titled Out of Reach: Unlocking Canada’s Housing Affordability Crisis, made 12 recommendations, from providing tax rebates on homes under $1 million – and for renters – to providing more support for small and medium-sized businesses that build modular homes.

For Senator Toni Varone, deputy chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy, some of the report’s most important findings include how taxation and municipal development fees impact housing availability.

“Those are the two most significant elements across Canada,” said Varone. “They vary in different parts of Canada, but in the GTA – the Greater Toronto Area – it represents up to 35 percent of the cost of a new home, and that is what’s stalling that market.”

In the NWT, where sales taxes are lower than in other Canadian jurisdictions, builders tend to face different issues such as the high cost of materials, transportation and labour, said Hughie Graham, director of partnerships and development at Arcan Construction.

In Hay River, Metcan, a construction company co-owned by Arcan and the Hay River Métis Government Council, builds modular homes and recently won a contract to build 84 units for Housing NWT, part of a larger 98-unit project.

The company started building outdoors in a yard across from its office but has since built a sprung structure heated to 4-5C in the winter, making for more comfortable work, Graham said.

“We’re now able to build indoors year-round, and that’s a huge advantage for the North,” said Graham.

One of the report’s recommendation was for the federal government to support small and medium-sized companies in their efforts to modernize construction, especially those building modular and factory-built homes.

That support could take the form of training and employment subsidies, Varone said.

Factory-built modular homes are the focus of a new federal agency, Build Canada Homes, for which an initial $13 billion has been pledged.

In other parts of the world such as Sweden, about 80 percent of homes have at least one component built off-site, the senate report noted.

Wage subsidies and training assistance would be practical supports for companies like Arcan that work in the NWT, Graham said.

“That allows us to hire and train local people and, without local people, our government and community housing projects just don’t move as fast,” said Graham.

He said increased support could also help the company expand its work camp so it can recruit employees from other communities.

Currently, Graham said, the camp can house about 16 people who spend four to six weeks in Hay River before getting two weeks off at home.

‘We’ve had to grind so much’

Myrna Pokiak and Eddie Paul, who run Yellowknife-based construction company Paul Bros Nextreme, said the permitting process can slow the process of getting more homes built, especially if a property has to be rezoned.

“It could be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to over a year. It really depends on the size of the project,” said Pokiak.

Paul Bros is a builder of modular homes, having recently completed a transitional housing facility near Yellowknife Airport.

Paul and Pokiak said government subsidies could be beneficial to smaller enterprises like theirs, as long there isn’t an abundance of administration required on the part of the companies, like they have seen with other programs.

“By the time we went through all the government loops and hoops and paperwork, we’re probably at a loss of just applying for that subsidy when it comes to the value of time,” said Pokiak, describing the company’s past experience.

She said one helpful tool would be employment subsidies where, instead of having funds capped like they are for some apprenticeship programs, the subsidy could cover around half of a person’s wages for a set period of time.

In their time in construction, Pokiak and Paul say they have seen subsidies and government relief programs go to larger companies.

“Our whole life, we’ve had to grind so much to get a small, small piece of the pie,” said Paul.

Should some of the recommendations from the Senate report be adopted, Paul and Pokiak agreed they’d like to see smaller, local businesses be prioritized for government support.