Squamish Nation member Charlene Frank-Joseph, 38, says the way housing is currently allotted by the band is unfair.
She and her family of five — two adults, two teenagers, and an infant — rent a North Shore basement suit. Her housing is cramped and inadequate, she says.
She wants one of the Nation’s Squamish condos.
Frank-Joseph has been a caregiver for 11 years and is currently caring for two Nation members in her home, who aren't related to her. She has gone before chiefs and council to plead that her family be given housing, but to no avail, she said.
"I am feeling at the end of my rope," she said.
Frank-Joseph believes she should be eligible for emergency housing.
That housing is being given to members who are in good favour with the chiefs and council, not by need, she alleges.
"My family needs help. We need long-term affordable and adequate housing."
She questions why the Nation hasn't allocated any new housing in years.
"Everybody knows somebody who is going through some sort of housing issue," Frank-Joseph said. "It is bigger than my situation."
The issue of housing has been a theme in the current run-up to the election of Squamish Nation council.
Voting day is Sunday, Dec. 10. Close to 3,000 of the 4,000 Squamish Nation members are registered to vote.
Squamish Nation council candidate, Dustin Rivers, who goes by the name Khelsilem, said housing is a crisis in the Nation and needs to be declared as such.
If elected Sunday, he said he hopes to approve $1 million of own-source revenue to be set aside in the annual budget for a housing fund that members can apply to borrow against for personal loans up to $200,000 to construct a home on-reserve.
"We have many members ready and willing to self-finance but we need a Council that is ready to take action," Khelsilem said.
He said he plans to also bring forward a resolution calling for a task force to create a five, 10, and 15-year plan to fix the issues with housing.
"I would ask we look at purpose-built rental, social housing, rent-to-own, and more, along with cost projections and options for financing the proposals. I would ask this work be completed within four months and then ask members to give input on which proposal they want implemented."
The band had a budget of $87 million for 2016, $17 million of which came from transfer payments from the federal government, according to Nation financial statements.
Beverly Brown, another candidate for council, agrees that the Nation needs a better housing policy that puts band members first.
"We have over 4,000 members and not enough homes, so my question for council is why are we buying back our land to develop it for sale to the Canadian public when we should be building for our own public," she said. The Nation is currently working to develop market housing, including in Squamish on the oceanfront and with the proposed Cheekye Fan development.
An official response from the Nation leadership to questions about housing allocation was not available prior to press deadline.
Incumbent Nation councillor, spokesperson and hereditary Chief Ian Campbell told the North Shore News that the band is wrestling with challenging issues, such as the need to increase revenue streams
“We’re building partnerships. We’re attracting investment,” he said in an interview.
Development of the Jericho lands in Vancouver — which the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam nations purchased last year for $480 million — could result in billions of dollars for the band, he said.
“There’s a lot to be celebrated. Now we need to bring it across the finish line.”
**With files from the North Shore News
