More than 460 on-reserve and off-reserve homes for Indigenous people are coming to Vancouver Island.
The homes are among the 1,600 new affordable rental units announced this week through the Indigenous Housing Fund, launched in 2018 and administered by B.C. Housing.
The fund is a $1.7-billion provincial initiative to deliver 3,500 new homes for Indigenous people.
A total of 173 homes will be constructed on reserves and 292 off-reserve homes will be built on Vancouver Island.
Off-reserve housing will be operated by Indigenous non-profit housing organizations, with operating agreements administered by the Aboriginal Housing Management Association.
In Nanaimo, 58 new affordable rental units will go up on Snuneymuxw First Nation land, providing “critical relief for families looking to live at home on our lands,” said Chief Mike Wyse, adding the new homes will help address a long-standing housing shortage.
The nation submitted two housing proposals to the B.C. Housing Indigenous Housing Fund in May and both were approved. They have a total development value of $47 million.
One project will have 43 units, the other 16. They will be made up of one, two, three and four-bedroom units, all on Warpath Road.
“Our primary focus is on ensuring affordable housing options are available for our people, so we can welcome more Snuneymuxw home and thrive here together as the Ancestors intended,” Wyse said.
Sheila Malcolmson, MLA for Nanaimo and Minister for Social Development and Poverty Reduction, said people in the Snuneymuxw First Nation have told her of the need for housing in their community, and “we’re taking action to address that need.”
Other on-reserve housing projects coming to Vancouver Island are in Campbell River, with 37 homes in partnership with We Wai Kai Nation, and 16 homes with the Homalco First Nation.
Cowichan Tribes will see seven new homes, while the Ucluelet First Nation will get 30 new homes.
Another 24 homes will be built on Saanichton-based Tsawout First Nation land.
As for off-reserve projects, the Métis Nation British Columbia will see 45 homes in Campbell River and 55 units in Saanich.
In the capital region, 40 units in Langford and 48 homes in Victoria will be built for the M’akola Housing Society.
Another 104 units are planned in Saanich for the Aboriginal Land Trust Society.
“Indigenous leaders and organizations have long asked governments at all levels to help them take action to address the Indigenous housing crisis,” said Murray Rankin, minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation.
