'A devastating blow': Yellowknife man out of options after accessible housing project fails

Nadeer Hashmi · CBC News

· Posted: May 30, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Brian Carter is packing up 26 years of memories astatine his Yellowknife home. 

Carter, who is seat of the N.W.T. Disabilities Council, hoped to determination into a long-awaited accessible lodging project, until it was enactment connected hold. 

"It's conscionable precise emotional, precise tough," Carter said.

Carter, his woman and different household subordinate they unrecorded with are each disabled. Because of his deteriorating wellness issues and besides a deficiency of accessible lodging for his family, helium has to permission the N.W.T., helium said. 

"We had discussed astir the anticipation of moving into that home. And present I'm forced to marque a large determination connected our own, disabled, with 3 of america disabled," Carter said.

Since 2020, the disabilities assembly and Housing N.W.T had been moving connected a 45 to 50-unit flat lodging task successful downtown Yellowknife. The extremity was to make affordable lodging tailored to the divers needs of radical with disabilities. The assembly had secured backing and a sub-lease connected a crippled from the territorial government.

In February, the territory informed the assembly they wanted to usage the onshore for different task and projected different sites. But owed to disagreements, the concern fell apart.

'There's thing disposable for them up here' 

Carter said they had worked connected architectural designs and fundraising for the past 5 years. For him, the task would person meant greater information and stability.

"My wellness is going down. I've got bosom problems. I've gotten diabetes. My legs request to beryllium amputated. I had crab country past twelvemonth that aft a agelong delay, I was moving my concern portion hooked up to a catheter ... yeah, it became precise idiosyncratic to me," Carter said.

With the task successful limbo, Carter said radical with disabilities volition proceed to conflict with the lack of a lodging solution.

"People volition proceed to beryllium transferred to institutions down southbound due to the fact that there's thing disposable for them up here." Carter said.

"It's going to mean they're losing their interaction with their communities, radical suffer their consciousness of dignity, and you cognize arsenic disabled radical that's a large happening is to beryllium capable to unrecorded successful dignity."

In an emailed statement, Housing N.W.T said the assembly didn't conscionable the deadlines nether their lease agreement.

"As milestones successful the archetypal lease statement were not met ... Housing N.W.T. met with the NWTDC and expressed our involvement successful moving up connected a much imminent lodging project," the connection read.

Carter disagrees with this.

"We met each milestone ... I asked them to supply the impervious of that, supply their letters to america requesting definite milestones."

CBC News reached retired to Housing N.W.T again, but didn't get a effect by deadline.

Significant need

Charles Dent, the N.W.T. human rights commissioner, calls the concern a setback for radical with disabilities, arsenic there's a important request that is not being met.

"It surely affects people's quality rights successful the broader strategy of things. If you instrumentality a look astatine the UN Declaration, it's surely an contented that would amusement up there."

With the task connected hold, Dent said this means conditions for radical with disabilities successful the North won't amended immoderate clip soon.

Marie-Josée Houle, Canada's national lodging advocate said there is simply a immense deficiency of accessible lodging for radical with disabilities which is "quite amplified for radical successful Canada's North."

"People with disabilities look fiscal hardship, unsafe lodging and the deficiency of supports and services at a acold higher rate," Houle said. 

"Basically this is unacceptable," she added. 

Houle said policies should beryllium made astir radical surviving with disabilities by keeping them cardinal successful discussions.

Carter said the illness of this task is much than conscionable bureaucratic.

"It's a devastating stroke to radical surviving with disabilities successful the Northwest Territories who stay chronically underserved across housing," Carter said.

Carter said helium feels bittersweet for the radical of the North, and that another task similar this could instrumentality different 10 years.