Housing shortages found in nearly every community in Kenora District, says services board

It's an issue that impacts nearly every community in the Kenora District:access to housing.

The Kenora District Services Board (KDSB) is creating its firstregional housing strategy, to see where housing is needed mostand what can be done to address the issue.

The KDSB typically dealt with social housing issues, but shortages of housing across income levels and socio-economic indicators are having a cascading impact, said Henry Wall, chief administrative officer of the KDSB.

"We know that for us to be successful and able to achieve in our mandate, we need to have a full continuum of housing," said Wall.

"We've seen this in a couple of situations where a new seniors' housing complex opened up,and all the sudden a number of housing units came up for sale," he said, noting that gives families and other groups a chance to obtain housing.

Wall said it is "a tragedy" when seniors are forced to move out of their community to find long-term care or other alternative housing, andthat issueextends to when families are unable to find a home of their own.

"What should the housing continuum look like, from birth to deathand everything in between?

"We have a lot of employers who have been making investments to expand their businesses, but they can't because even though they are able to find talented labour, there is no place for them to live, there's no place for them to move into."

Wall said he believed that with a strategy, part of that issue could be solved.

Sioux Lookout is a community with its share of housing issues.

Mayor Doug Lawrance said the municipality has been dealing with a housing shortage since he moved to the community 35 years ago.

Lawrance said"it's an opportunity" to help spur new development in the community, by creating new homes for people to live.

Lawrance said he's heard of many employers who have new workers come to town, only to move away shortly after when they can't find permanent housing. He said in Sioux Lookout, the shortage runs from seniors' and accessible housing, to social housing and young professionals looking for a place to live.

A housing forum in the community a handful of years ago did have some success in attracting developers, he said.

"We did get some new homes," he said, noting some contractors have continued to build in the community.

Wall said while Sioux Lookout is known for its housing challenges and opportunities, communities that previously had enough housing, like Pickle Lake and Ignace,are now seeing a shortage.

"It doesn't even matter the size of the community any more," he said, "there's a housing challenge in our district."

Wall said the goal is to ensure each familyhas access to a home. Butthe housing crunch has implicated other KDSB services too.

"From a selfish standpoint, KDSB is a fairly large employer across the region,and we're finding it difficult to attract young talent to come to the region, to work as a paramedic, an ECE[early childhood educator], if there's just no housing. Andwe know we're not alone in that regard as an employer."