A spokesperson for Aboriginal women says the federal government provides good housing for its employees in Canada’s far north — and if it can do that, it should be able to do the same for remote Aboriginal communities.
Native Women’s Association of Canada president Jeannette Corbiere Lavell made the remarks after being asked about the housing crisis in Attawapiskat during a hearing of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples in Ottawa yesterday.
Corbiere Lavell says the difference seems to be that Aboriginal housing is made with cheap materials that won’t last.
Meanwhile, a senator on the committee says it’s unfair that Aboriginal people in remote communities have to pay more for food and housing than other Canadians.
Senator Celine Hervieux-Payette says by living in remote areas like the North, Aboriginal people help make Canada’s claim to that land legitimate.
For that reason, she says Aboriginal people deserve some help with things like housing and food costs in the North.