Ten months with yellow water in Fort Simpson public housing
Chalifoux's home in the Northwest Territories village already had issues when she and her two sons first moved in four years ago. There were sunken foundations, boarded windows, insect infestations, plywood covered in dog feces and suspected mould, she says, to name a few.
Chalifoux says she overlooked these problems because of her fond memories of the house, which was her childhood friend's home during the late 1980s. At the time, she considered it a "home away from home."
Originally, Chalifoux had hoped her children would make new happy memories under the same roof.
Last summer, when the tap water began to appear oily and bath water turned yellow, she says she realized the house was no place for her children to grow up.
Thirteen-year-old True and 11-year-old Adrian live with their mom in the public housing unit.
Chalifoux says she and her boys have developed health issues since moving in, including insect bites and trouble breathing. Officials have said the unit is no longer fit for habitation.
She now takes allergy medication twice daily for the poor air quality and suspects a series of bladder infections are linked to the water.
"This is civil rights. Water, fresh water, clean water to bathe in and to drink. It’s ridiculous," Chalifoux said.
"My children need safe water to drink and safe water to bathe in and a safe house to call a home."
Housing N.W.T.'s president and CEO, Eleanor Young, said her organization "encourages public housing tenants to contact their Local Housing Organization if there are maintenance issues in their public housing unit."
In a statement, Young said if a tenant is concerned a unit is impacting their health, they should report it to their Local Housing Organization (LHO). The next step would be to share concerns in writing with the LHO's board. They can then write to the Housing N.W.T. district director, and then file a complaint to the Rental Office.
Over the years, Chalifoux says she has brought various issues to the attention of her LHO in Fort Simpson. She says they were not properly addressed.
Chalifoux said Fort Simpson's public housing system doesn't adequately take care of its tenants, takes too long to respond to concerns, and provides "a quick job" when something needs fixing, but not necessarily a lasting solution.
"They're not good landlords," she said.
“My understanding? Once Eliza has moved out, [Housing N.W.T.] have no plans of renovating it,” said Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson of the unit the family is living in.
“It’s going to be demolished at some point in time.”
Chalifoux asked Thompson to help her find a solution last winter. Since then, Thompson has worked with housing officials to find her a new home.
“We’re part of the advocacy part. We represent the constituents. Sometimes it’s quicker than others, sometimes units aren’t available,” said Thompson.
“We reached out to the minister and the local housing authority and corporation, and worked together to get her a place.
“The minister and the housing corp did a lot of good work."
Young said Housing N.W.T. cannot address specific cases to protect client confidentiality.
"Housing N.W.T. contracts with the LHO to perform maintenance and repairs on all units. They must meet all health, safety and other standards," Young said.
"If there are concerns about water quality, the LHO will work with Housing N.W.T., the municipality as well as the environmental health officer to understand what the issue is related to the water, as well as what the cause of the issue may be, and then the LHO/Housing N.W.T. will take the necessary steps to remediate the issue."
Chalifoux says this doesn't accurately reflect her experience, adding she was told "nothing’s up to code" by a maintenance worker who visited two months ago.
She says she took water samples last winter but was told they would not be tested.
"I feel betrayed. I feel like I’ve not been heard. I feel like I don’t matter. I feel like they put my health at risk," said Chalifoux.
"Who’s to be held accountable for all of this?"
After making multiple requests for a health inspection of her home, Chalifoux says she contacted a regional health inspector who plans to visit this month.
Chalifoux says she and her children still live with yellow water in their unit.
In April, they were offered a transfer and accepted. The new unit is in need of repair, though, so the family is waiting in the old one.
“I don’t want to just go into another place where I’m not going to feel safe and I’m not going to feel [it] is my home," said Chalifoux.
"I really don’t want to step on people’s toes, but this is going on for too long and this cannot continue in order for our community to get better and heal, and for it to be safe."
Chalifoux says she first complained about yellow water to the LHO in July 2023. She was later put on the waitlist for a transfer, a timeline Cabin Radio has independently verified.
LHOs act as a first point of contact for public housing tenants, Young stated. Overseen by an advisory board, the LHO manages property, reviews lease agreements, allocates units, develops tenant success plans, collects rent and oversees repairs.
Sharon Allen, a member of the Fort Simpson LHO’s advisory board, says the board's role is often confused with other services offered in the community because of different board members’ interpretations.
"We're not here to be judge and jury about people's social situations," Allen explained. "We're here to make sure that people are living in suitable housing, making sure that it fits their needs, make sure that families have adequate housing."
In January 2024, Chalifoux was offered a transfer that she declined out of concern for her children's safety. The unit being offered, Chalifoux said, was located next to a known drug dealer.
The housing board has had ongoing discussions about its role and the limits of its authority, according to Allen, who joined the board last November.
"We can't move people around based on their social standing in the community," said Allen. "We're just providing housing."
Chalifoux says this May, she's eight months sober from cocaine addiction. Her recovery has not always been easy, especially with the stresses related to housing, she said, and depression played a key role in her drug use.
"It has been very, very detrimental to my health, with the housing issues. This community in general, this community is very sick and divided," said Chalifoux, adding that drug and alcohol addiction in her community is linked to "poor housing" and limited supports for residents.
Allen agrees, saying discussions at the housing board often link back to other social issues.
"Mental wellness, addictions, a lot of those kind of issues, we deal with a lot," said Allen. "From a board perspective, I really feel like we could do way more for our people than just provide housing."
Since her sobriety, Chalifoux has taken a deeper interest in her faith and prays with friends in the community. Now, she's planning for a new future.
"I've been given a new lease of life and I don't want that in my life," she said. "I don't want those people, I don't want that lifestyle, I don't want to go back to sleeping all day. I want to get up with the sun, have a good job and provide, and I want to try to go to school."
Over the past few months, Chalifoux says advocating for her family has meant contacting the Fort Simpson Housing Authority, the housing board, her MLA, the housing minister, Housing N.W.T.'s president, vice president and district director, the Department of Health and Social Services and the territory's ombud, among others.
"Housing N.W.T. takes the health and safety of our clients seriously," Young said on behalf of the housing corporation.
"If a unit is deemed to be beyond its economic life, and it does not make sense to invest any further money into repairs, Housing N.W.T. will first work with the LHO to adequately accommodate the tenant in another unit, and then follow its own disposal and remediation policies and procedures to dispose of the unit.
"The LHOs do the best they can to allocate tenants based on their needs, and matching it with the housing units that they have available."
Young says limited suitable inventory and a scarcity of building materials and contractors in Fort Simpson are factors that can affect wait times.
"How long with my yellow water, and how long they put me in a house that should've been condemned?" said Chalifoux.
“I’m a concerned mother. What do you call that – crimes against humanity. Wouldn’t it be? Allowing me to bathe and drink this water?”
Allen says she raised her six children in public housing some 20 years ago, while studying in school. Since her time in public housing, Allen believes not much has changed.
"It feels like a trap," Allen said. "There's people who have goals, but it's very difficult to get away from it. And you get penalized the more money you make."
LHO managers are often non-Indigenous, transient workers who hold power but nobody knows them, Allen said.
In her experience, tenants find favouritism and stigma shape how services are delivered. Once you enter public housing, some tenants say it's difficult to leave, in part due to the lack of affordable alternatives.
"This is the kind of stuff that happened 20 years ago. It's still continuously happening," said Allen.
"As long as we have nepotism, racism, and stigmatism... we're not going to have progress. We're going to have despair."
And then, she said, you have a fragmented community.
Market rentals in Fort Simpson are few and far between, which places further stress on public housing and limits options for people looking to own a home or enter the private market.
Allen believes inter-agency supports could help mitigate issues related to housing security and offer long-term solutions in her community.
For example, Allen says, public housing would be better equipped to support tenants if there were links to addiction recovery services or education opportunities.
"I've always seen housing as a stepping stone for people to get out of hard times. It's not meant to be a long-term solution for the North," said Allen.
"Instead of looking at people as damaged, look at them as they're going through a bit of a hard time right now. We're here as a support."
Chalifoux says she has felt overlooked by the housing agency because she is not well-connected in the community. She believes if she had the right family name or job title, her housing conditions would have been addressed sooner.
"I know how the government works. They’re going to talk about policies and procedures and all of that," said Chalifoux. “It’s who you know with everything around here."
Fort Simpson has a population of 1,300. It's common to see someone you know when walking down the street or calling a public agency, according to Chalifoux.
Allen says she believes judgments, family ties and racism impact the services people receive in her community.
"If you're a certain family member, you're not going to get programs and services. You're not going to be encouraged to get educated," said Allen. "It's just supporting and encouraging nepotism."
Stigma related to mental health, addiction and public housing supports creates additional barriers for community members, she said.
"Racism – it's huge," said Allen. "It's a huge deal in how society runs."
Now, Chalifoux and her two sons are waiting for news about when their new unit will be move-in ready. Until then, Chalifoux continues to boil water before use.
Thompson says Chalifoux was approved for a new hot water tank while she waits to move.
"I have faith that everything will work out in my relationship, in my life, in my work situation, when I don't have money," said Chalifoux.
"I believe that there is good, even though I know there is bad, but the good always outweighs the bad.
"If you give up and lose hope, then what's the point?"
Simona Rosenfield, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cabin Radio
