'Awesome' training program helps Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., tackle own housing needs

Justin Jackson loves his job repairing homes in Fort Good Hope, N.W.T.

So when his employer, Ne'Rahten Development Limited (NDL) offered him a leadership training opportunity — he decided to go for it.

"At first [I was] kind of hesitant, but I'm growing to love it," said Jackson, NDL's senior crew chief. "It's awesome. An awesome tool."

Jackson is one of two men NDL is putting through Aurora College's Northern Leadership Development Program. It's part of a multi-pronged strategy to build Fort Good Hope's capacity to look after its own housing needs — an effort that Arthur Tobac says needs local leaders.

"We thought it best that the workforce comes from the community, that way there's always a resource," said Tobac, who is NDL's business manager and who is also helping structure the community's housing society.

"I'm quite proud of them," he said.

Building homes a future goal

In December 2020, the K'ásho Got'ıne Housing Society was given full control of repairs on private properties in Fort Good Hope, a community of about 500 people in the Sahtu region of the N.W.T.

The move was part of a pilot project between the society and the N.W.T. Housing Corporation to try and speed up repairs and give more say to the community about who is awarded the work.

Previously when a home needed a repair, the territorial government would put it out to tender.

Tobac said the housing society uses NDL, the business arm of the Yamoga Land Corporation, to do emergency repairs, renovations and maintenance in the community. After Fort Good Hope took on its own remediation efforts following a flood in 2021, the maintenance crew expanded from two people to five people and a casual worker.

"I love what I'm doing, contributing to the community," said Jackson. He said he's been into carpentry for his entire life, and enjoys working with his hands. He's been putting those skills to use with NDL since 2017, and was promoted to a senior crew chief position in 2020.

In the winter, Jackson said a lot of the work involves thawing people's sewage and drain lines.

A little more than a year ago, the housing society had assessed 30 homes from roof to foundation and deemed some of them to be in need of major repairs or replacement.

Jackson said one of the maintenance crew's goals is to help people living in poor conditions — homes without power or running water. He also wants to get into bigger projects, like building homes from the ground up.

Uplifting training sessions

The Northern Leadership Development Program aims to increase people's self-awareness, improve their communication and decision-making skills and teach them how to manage stress.

The goal is to prepare people for more senior positions within their organizations, and Jackson says he'd recommend it to anybody.

"Every time a module is over, [I] walk away kind of uplifted," he said.

Jackson says what he's learned so far has all been familiar — but the program has a way of putting things into perspective and making it all click. "It was always in me. Just brought it out, painted a picture," he said.

Since Jackson and David Stewart, the organization's other crew chief, started the program, Tom Ashley —  NDL's interim construction manager — has noticed their communication skills are improving. Tobac has also noticed a shift.

"They're changing a lot in their attitude towards work. And a lot of them are starting to feel like their self worth is there, that they are valuable," he said.

The big picture 

The Northern Leadership Development Program is one of a handful of things Tobac is leveraging to build Fort Good Hope's capacity to maintain its own homes.

He said they've received funding from Employment and Social Development Canada to do two other programs. Six people got to participate in an Aurora College program called Building Trades Helper, which teaches basic construction, renovation and maintenance tasks.

It prepares people for entry-level employment opportunities in the construction industry, so they can help carpenters, electricians, plumbers, drywallers, painters and mechanical contractors.

Tobac said eight students in Grade 11 and Grade 12 from the Chief T'Selehye School in Fort Good Hope also went to Aurora College's Fort Smith campus for the Trades Awareness Program in September.