utselk'e senior had $10K in housing repairs approved, but never completed

It's been eight monthssince the territorial government promised Ray Griffith repairs on his porch, but no work has been done.

Griffith, 72, lives in utselk'e, N.W.T.

Last summer he was approved for a $10,000 forgivablehousing repair loan through the territory's Seniors Aging in Place Policy a program that supports N.W.T. residents 60 and over with home repairs "so that they can live independently for as long as possible in their communities."

Griffith applied to have his porch fixed, a part of the house that has been incomplete since he moved in.

What should be an enclosed space, like a vestibule, is open, with planks of flooring missing near the stairs.

He said the repair would increase the energy efficiency of his home by creating a barrier between his living space and the elements.

He was told that Wilf'sRestoration Ltd. from Yellowknife would be coming to utselk'e to fix his porch and work on other projects in the community.

There were initial discussions with the contractor and Griffith was told the project would be completed by the end of October, 2021.

He said the project continued to be pushed back until the end of the fiscal year when "it just expired."

Wilf's Restoration, reached by phone, said it could not comment on its projects.

"I'm presuming that in the files of the NWT Housing Corporation, it will be recorded as I have been approved and provided $10,000 of assistance," Griffith said.

"Not that it matters a whole lot to me what's in the files of the NWTHousing Corporation, but it's something that's not working right that I think should be looked at."

Local labour a better alternative

When a representative ofHousing NWT came to utselk'e earlier this year, he brought with him materials for Griffith's porch repair that had apparently been sitting at the government building.

Griffith pointing out the plywood, insulation, and wood panels said the materials look to be sufficient for his porch, but guesses it's about $1,000 to $1,500 worth of supplies.

"So I'm wondering what happened to the other $9,000," he said.

He said he's heard of other such cases in the community where promises of repairs were never fulfilled, or the contractors fixed a window "or some very small item that is clearly not worth [$10,000]," he said.

Griffith also noted that skills exist within utselk'e to do repair work.

He suggested there might be a way to bring in a supervisor perhaps to hire local labour for future projects.

Griffith has reapplied and again been approved for the same Seniors Aging in Place Policy, hoping his porch is completed this fiscal year.

A spokesperson at Housing NWTsaid he couldn't speak to individual cases for privacy reasons but said "there are a number of factors that can contribute to work not being completed."

Among them,spokesperson Ben Fraserlisted an application being received late in the year, the contractor's capacity "to secure the resources and complete the project," and "unanticipated delays outside of the control of the contractors."

In the email response, Fraser listed flooding and COVID-19 as examples of those unanticipated factors.