Iqaluit family in tent 1 of 170 on wait list for social housing in city

The father of afamily of six living in a tent in Iqaluitsays despite working a full-time job, he cannot afford a place to live in Nunavut's capital.

Norman RogerLaisa and his family have spent the last three months living in a tent near downtown Iqaluit, heated by a propane tank.

"Barely slept last night just to make sure the tent is all up so my kids won't get cold," Laisa said Wednesday after temperatures droppedand the overnight windchill dippedbelow -30 C.

"Once in a while, I'll turn on the Coleman stove, even though we got a heater. But sometimes, it's not really warm. We got to put more blankets over our kids to keep them warm. But we managed to go through a night again."

Laisa and his family areon the Iqaluit Housing Authority's wait listfor a three-bedroom unit.

The familyis one of 170 households waitingfor public housing in Iqaluit.

526 units all fullor in need ofrepair

The housing authority has 526 units in the city, all of them currently occupied or in need of repair. Households are ranked on the list based on a point system.

Laisahas beenworkingfull-time with the city of Iqaluitsince September, driving a sewage truck andearningaround $4,000 a month. He says he hasn't been able to find a home he can afford to rent while having enough tocover the rest of his family'sliving expenses.

"According to what I hear, there's quite a few places that are expensivebut we never check them because if we can't afford it, why bother checking there," he said.

He used to work part-timeat the local Royal Canadian Legion branch whichprovided staff housingbut he says he wasn't making enough money to support his family.

The 45-year-oldcontracted tuberculosis earlier on in life, affecting his lung capacity, andsays living in a home where people smoke is not an option.

"We don't have [any]choice to stay in that tent because we don't have a place to go. I can't really smell cigarettes, that hurts my lungs. If [I'm] where people smoke, I'll just end up in the hospital and I won't be able to support my family."

Waitinglist for social housing inIqaluit

• One bedroom 91 households.
• Two bedrooms 51 households.
• Three bedrooms 20 households.
• Four bedrooms 8 households.

Source:NunavutHousing Corporation