Introduction |Opening and Closing Sessions |Plenaries |Dialogues
Special Sessions |Roundtables |Networking Events |Training Events
Other Events |Exhibition |Documents |Video |Photos |Contact Us
 
Events by Title
Events by Day
 

Aboriginal Housing in Canada - Building on Promising Practices

Report

Day / Time Tuesday, June 20th / 13:30 - 15:30


Event Description
Aboriginal housing is recognized as the worst in Canada . Fifty-four per cent of housing on reserves is substandard. The Canadian government and aboriginal organizations are currently in discussions aimed at implementing a transformative solution. The resource paper will review the reasons for the poor state of aboriginal housing and will examine the particular, and unique, challenges involved in housing aboriginal Canadians living both on and off reserves. The paper will showcase eight existing aboriginal housing providers as models for future success. They represent "aboriginal homeownership," urban rental and social housing projects. These models demonstrate principles helping bring about the desired transformation of aboriginal housing. At the networking session an aboriginal panel will lead a discussion based on the models to propose a strategy for the future.


Session Language

English

French


Speakers

Ron Jamieson, Six Nations Reserve, retired Senior Vice President, Bank of Montreal

David Seymour, National Aboriginal Housing Association, Executive Director, M'akola Group

Beverley Jacobs, President, Native Women's Association of Canada


Host Organization
Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA)
This session is one of a series of 12 networking sessions organized by the International Housing Coalition (IHC) on important housing issues.


Host Organization Description
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada 's largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 82,000 real estate Brokers/agents and salespeople working through 99 real estate Boards, 10 provincial Associations and one territorial Association. CREA's primary mission is to represent its members at the federal level of government and to act as a watchdog on national legislation that pertains to the real estate industry. CREA has frequently taken strong stands to defend the public's right to own and enjoy property.

 

Report

back to top

Title of Event:


Name of Organisation:

Date and time of the session:

 

Aboriginal Housing in Canada; Building on Promising Practices.

The Canadian Real Estate Association, in cooperation with the International Housing Coalition.

June 20, 2006 13:30-15:30

 

Key Highlights

  1. Estimated no of participants : 150
  2. Stakeholder group representation at the event: housing associations, private sector interests, social science academics and/or aboriginal organizations from across Canada and around the world.
  3. What were the expected objectives: A boriginal housing providers and interested stakeholders would be made aware of innovative work being done by Canadian housing groups. In raising the level of awareness we also hoped to provide the opportunity for associations, communities and private sector representatives to make contact with each other.
  4. What did the networking event achieve: It was evident from the questions raised that many of the solutions presented by groups profiled in the paper and most of the recommendations made represented new information for most participants.

2. What were the core issues identified in your event as they relate to the theme and sub-themes of WUFIII? See below.

3. What were the main points raised by panellists and participants in relation to these different issues? What new ideas have been generated as a result of the discussion?

  1. The immediate and urgent need for concrete housing solutions in aboriginal communities both on and off-reserve. Aboriginal women are in particular need and they are the segment of the aboriginal population most likely to be heads of urban households. Land tenure was an obvious sub-theme in this discussion.
  2. Decent housing lays the foundation for all other social programs. Without adequate housing, health, economic viability and personal growth are all more difficult to achieve and maintain.
  3. The aboriginal community is ready to embrace innovative solutions to the housing crisis. Home ownership was widely regarded as a positive step for many aboriginal families. There is still a need for social housing, especially off-reserve. Participants representing housing providers were able to share information about some of their resources during the event and to exchange contact numbers for continued communication after the event.

4. What process steps have been identified in your event that could help turn ideas into operational reality? Already, there are concrete signs of the success of the event. Two of the projects profiled in the paper, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and Six Nations of the Grand River Territory are currently discussing how to adapt a rent-to-own program in effect at Six Nations to TMT's housing mix. They have written a note to say this new connection is a direct result of the event. Across the board, connections were made and possible solutions were found as early as during the session itself.

The National Aboriginal Housing Association is planning to become a member of the IHC as a result of the session. CREA is looking into future possibilities and NAHA is also pursuing plans for the creation of a home ownership program as a result of networking with other organizations (most notably CREA and Habitat for Humanity) as a result of their role at this event.

 

back to top

Terms and Conditions. All images copyright UN-HABITAT, GLOBE Foundation or iisd.