Housing and water quality

The home is where people are trying to raise families, the water they drink daily, a quiet place for study–these things are vital to health and happiness.
—The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, 1996a: 371

The fulfillment of the basic physiological needs of shelter and safe drinking water is necessary to the well-being of any person. This section examines housing conditions of Aboriginal people and the quality of their drinking water, with an emphasis on Inuit living in the Far North.

Crowding
Water quality

Crowding¹¹

Aboriginal people more likely to live in crowded conditions

Health experts maintain that inadequate housing can be associated with a host of health problems. For example, crowded living conditions can lead to the transmission of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and hepatitis A, and can also increase risk for injuries, mental health problems, family tensions and violence (Health Canada 1999: 14).

In all regions of the country, the homes of Aboriginal people living in non-reserve areas were more crowded than those of all Canadians, although the situation is improving slightly with time. (For the purpose of this analysis, crowding is defined as 1.0 or more people per room.)

According to the 2001 Census, 7% of the total Canadian non-reserve population lived in crowded conditions, down slightly from 8% in 1996. Among Aboriginal people in non-reserve areas, the proportion was 17% in 2001, but this was down from 22% in 1996.

Census data also show that Aboriginal children aged 14 and under were nearly twice as likely as all Canadian children to live in crowded conditions. While 25% of Aboriginal children in non-reserve areas lived in crowded conditions in 2001, the comparable figure for all Canadian children in non-reserve areas was 13%.

Crowded conditions in Prairie cities

Crowding is an issue for Aboriginal people living in many of Canada’s largest cities, particularly Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon and Edmonton. In these four cities, rates of crowding for Aboriginal people were much higher than those for the total population.

For example, 2001 Census information shows that 18% of Aboriginal people of all ages living in Saskatoon lived in crowded households, more than three times the proportion of 5% for the total population. The gap between Aboriginal people and the total population living in Regina was also large. While 5% of the total population of Regina lived in crowded conditions, the figure for Aboriginal people was three times higher: 15%.

Between 1996 and 2001, dwellings in many of Canada’s biggest cities became somewhat less crowded for both the Aboriginal and total population. For example, in Winnipeg, 17% of Aboriginal people lived in crowded conditions in 2001, down from 20% five years earlier.

The census showed that the situation also eased slightly in Regina, where the percentage of Aboriginal people in crowded dwellings went from 17% in 1996 to 15% in 2001. It also improved in Saskatoon, where the percentage declined from 20% to 18%. There were similar declines in many other major Canadian cities including Montreal, Ottawa-Hull, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Chart 8. Percentage of people living in homes with 1.0 or more persons per room, selected Census Metropolitan Areas, 2001

Crowding an important issue for Inuit in Canadian Arctic

Crowding among Inuit in the Far North is a serious concern. There, 53% of Inuit lived in crowded conditions, compared with 13% of all Aboriginal people living in urban areas across the country and 19% in rural areas outside the Canadian Arctic.

According to Health Canada, “there is a higher risk of tuberculosis in communities with higher levels of crowding” (Health Canada 2003b:44), and crowding could be one factor associated with the high rate of tuberculosis among the Canadian Arctic Inuit population. About 3.6% of Inuit in the Far North had tuberculosis, compared with 1.7% for the non-reserve North American Indian population, and 0.9% for the Métis.

In the Canadian Arctic, the housing crunch has improved slightly over time. In 2001, five in 10 Inuit (53%) in this region lived in crowded conditions, down from six in 10 (61%) five years earlier.

Of the four Inuit regions (Inuvialuit, Nunavut, Nunavik, and Labrador¹²), Nunavik in northern Quebec was the only region in which the crowding situation for Inuit did not improve, in the five years between censuses. In Nunavik, 68% of Inuit lived in crowded conditions in 2001, up slightly from 67% five years earlier.

In 2001, 54% of Inuit in Nunavut experienced crowding compared to 63 % in 1996. There was a similar decline for Inuit living in Labrador where the proportion fell from 33% in 1996 to 28% in 2001. Finally, the Inuvialuit region in the Northwest Territories saw a decline from 51% to 35%.

Many Aboriginal people live in homes requiring major repairs

In general, the homes of Aboriginal people are more likely in need of major repairs than are the homes of others. Major repairs include such items as defective plumbing or electrical wiring, structural repairs to walls, floors or ceilings and so on.

Among Aboriginal people living in non-reserve areas, 18% lived in homes requiring major repairs compared with 8% for the total Canadian non-reserve population. Many Aboriginal people living in Canada’s largest cities live in homes in need of major repairs.

The situation was most serious in Regina and Vancouver where 17% of Aboriginal people lived in homes of this type. These two cities were followed closely by Winnipeg where the percentage was 16%. In contrast, 8% of the total population of Regina lived in dwellings needing major repairs, as did 8% in Vancouver and 10% in Winnipeg.

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Water quality

Inuit in Nunavik state water quality concerns

A safe source of drinking water is fundamental to good health. Water contamination resulting from agricultural activities, industrial discharge and so on can lead to many health problems in adults and children. In urban and rural areas, a relatively small percentage of adults had concerns about the contamination of drinking water.

According to the 2001 APS, 16% of Aboriginal people in urban areas said there were times of the year when their water was contaminated. For Aboriginal people in rural areas, the figure was slightly higher at 19%.

However, the situation for Inuit in the Far North was somewhat different. Overall, 34% of Inuit in this region said that there were times of year when their water was contaminated. There were some differences from one Inuit region to the next. For example, water contamination was a major issue in Nunavik in northern Quebec, where 73% of Inuit stated that their water was contaminated at certain times of the year. This was followed by 33% in Labrador, 29% in the Inuvialuit region and 21% in Nunavut (Chart 9).

In addition to water contamination, general safety of water was also a concern among many. The 2001 APS showed that the majority of Aboriginal people in urban and rural areas were confident that their water was safe for drinking. However, just under 15% of those in urban and rural areas felt their water was unsafe.

Water safety was more of an issue for Inuit in the Far North as 18% reported unsafe drinking water. The proportion varied from one region to another. About 37% of Inuit in Nunavik reported that the water available to their homes was not safe for drinking, compared with 12% in Labrador, 13% in Nunavut and 16% in the Inuvialuit region.

Chart 9. Drinking water safety and water contamination by Inuit region, Inuit population age 15 and over, 2001