Opening Statement before the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs

Housing in First Nations Communities

(Report 2—2024 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada)

29 April 2024

Karen Hogan, Fellow Chartered Professional AccountantFCPA
Auditor General of Canada

Mr. Chair, thank you for this opportunity to discuss our report on Housing in First Nations Communities which was tabled in Parliament on 19 March 2024. I want to begin by acknowledging that we are gathered on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people. This area is also known as Ottawa. I express my gratitude and respect to all Indigenous peoples who have contributed to shaping and safeguarding the beautiful lands they call home throughout Canada. Joining me today is Doreen Deveen, the Director who was responsible for the audit.

Many people living in First Nations communities do not have access to housing that is safe and in good condition. Overall, we found that Indigenous Services Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation made little progress in supporting First Nations to improve housing conditions in their communities.

Indigenous Services Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation are responsible for working with First Nations to meet their housing needs by 2030. Although $4 billion was spent over the past 5 years to build new homes, repair existing ones, and increase First Nations’ capacity to manage housing, we found that in 2023, 80% of needs were still not met. The percentage of homes that need major repairs or replacement remains largely unchanged, despite the spending that has gone into building and repairing homes. In 2021, the Assembly of First Nations estimated that $44 billion was needed to improve housing in First Nations communities, and needs continue to grow.

We found that the department and the corporation had not prioritized communities with the greatest needs. First Nations communities with the poorest housing conditions received less funding than communities of the same size with better housing conditions.

Mould in First Nations homes is a long-standing health hazard, and we found that Indigenous Services Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation still did not know the magnitude of the problem. In fact, the department and the corporation are currently not following the strategy that they developed in 2008 to address this problem, and neither could explain why the strategy is no longer used. There is no plan in place to tackle this issue.

This is the fourth time since 2003 that we are raising the alarm about unsafe and unsuitable housing in First Nations communities. Adequate housing is a basic human need. After 4 audit reports, I can honestly say that I am completely discouraged that so little has changed and that so many First Nations individuals and families continue to live in substandard homes.

Time after time, whether in housing, policing, safe drinking water, or other critical areas, our audits of federal programs to support Canada’s Indigenous peoples reveal a distressing and persistent pattern of failure. The lack of progress clearly demonstrates that the government’s passive, siloed approach is ineffective and in fact contradicts the spirit of true reconciliation. A fundamental shift is urgently needed to drive significant progress in providing proper support to Indigenous families and communities across the country—especially those most in need, who currently are too often left behind.

While the government is at the early stages of transferring its responsibilities for housing to First Nations, unless the department and corporation take meaningful action to address the issues we have identified, it is unclear if the transfer will be successful.

It is important to understand that these are not legacy issues that live in the past. They are ongoing and perpetual, with direct consequences that people experience on a daily basis, and they stand in contradiction to Canada’s commitments to truth and reconciliation.

We made 8 recommendations to improve the government’s delivery of housing programs to First Nations communities. We are concerned that Indigenous Services Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation only partially agreed with our recommendation that they work with communities with the poorest housing conditions to ensure that they receive the support they need to improve housing conditions.

Mr. Chair, this concludes my opening remarks. We would be pleased to answer any questions the Committee may have. Thank you.