There is a housing emergency in the Ross River Dena Council community, says Chief Jack Caesar.

He’s calling on the Yukon’s political party leaders to take immediate action.

The situation has gotten so bad that nearly half of the 130 homes in the community of about 415 people are unsafe to live in, Caesar says in an Oct. 22 letter addressed to the four political party leaders.

A recent environmental study in the eastern Yukon community shows that high levels of toxic mould, radon, petroleum and/or sewage are present in 45 to 47 occupied homes, according to the letter.

Another 16 have deteriorated to the point where they had to be abandoned.

“RRDC (Ross River Dena Council) needs immediate and sustained help from the Yukon and Canadian governments to address the current emergency housing crisis affecting the health of many of our people,” says Caesar.

The contaminants are “significantly affecting the health of the families” who live in these homes, he said. Babies, toddlers and elders are at risk.

Most of these homes are damaged beyond repair, says Caesar.

Emergency temporary homes for 48 to 60 families are needed before winter.

The RRDC does not have a land claim and self-governing agreement with Canada. It is a band under the Indian Act.

Technically, housing for Ross River is the responsibility of Canada, but some of the Yukon’s political parties say they too have a duty to confront the housing crisis, as a matter of public safety.

On Thursday, the Yukon Liberals confirmed they would allocate money to housing in Ross River in the 2017-18 territorial budget.

“Obviously, it’s going to require a financial commitment,” said Liberal spokesperson Valerie Royle.

“How much money that’s going to be, we need to get in and assess the situation. Yes, we’ll work with the federal government, but no, we will not shirk any responsibility on this.

“These are Yukoners, and they’re living in Third World conditions. This is a crisis.”

The Yukon New Democrats said they too would commit territorial dollars to housing in Ross River, determining the amount in conjunction with the federal government.

“We believe that the federal government has dropped the ball quite badly, and we aren’t going to sit around and wait for them to take action,” said Denise MacDonald, the NDP’s campaign spokesperson.

“Ideally, we would like the feds to come up and cough up quite a big share, but we will be one of the funders.”

Stacey Hassard is the minister responsible for the Yukon Housing Corp. for the Yukon Party government.

He was not available for an interview Thursday.

However, he said in an email that if re-elected Nov. 7, he would direct the housing corporation to draft a plan for how to address the issue “until the feds live up to their obligations.”

Ted Laking, the Yukon Party’s campaign spokesperson, followed that up.

He said a solution could include “money or other supports,” but ultimately, the decision would be made by Canada, the Ross River Dena Council and the Yukon government together.

Last April, the Yukon government announced $3 million for a new government staff residence in Ross River. The building will have six units with one or two bedrooms each.

As soon as construction on the residence is finished, the housing corporation will turn over four or five units to Ross River citizens, Hassard said in a Sept. 15 letter to Carolyn Bennett, the minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). The letter was provided to the Star by the Yukon Party.

It’s unclear if Ross River citizens must be Yukon government employees to be eligible for a unit in the new building.

As of last April 18, a lot for the residence had been chosen. Construction was slated to begin this fall, but the move-in date has yet to be determined.

Though the Yukon Green Party is not running enough candidates to form a majority government, it too was a recipient of Caesar’s letter.

Party leader Frank de Jong said the housing crisis requires the involvement of all orders of government – federal, territorial and First Nation.

He said the Yukon government should set aside funds in the 2017-18 budget for temporary emergency housing for the families in greatest need.

de Jong also called for staff and resources to study the possibility of moving the community to higher ground near the Campbell Highway “out of a permafrost area and to take advantage of geothermal potential.”

A lack of adequate housing in Ross River has been a major problem for “many, many years,” said Carl Sidney, the Liberal candidate in Pelly-Nisutlin, which includes Ross River.

“The people are very sick, and they’ve actually moved out of their homes, and most of the homes that have mould issues are condemned,” said Sidney, who was in Ross River recently for the council’s general assembly.

“It just doesn’t seem that the territorial government is listening to the people in the community.”

Sidney said history has made people in the community afraid to approach governments with their problems.

There’s a fear they might get kicked out of their homes, he said.

Letters outlining the housing emergency and what is needed to remedy the situation were sent to Canada and to Hassard in September, Caesar says in his Oct. 22 letter.

From the Yukon government, Caesar asked for:

• 48 to 60 emergency homes before winter;

• 20 to 40 homes to be torn down;

• training so that Ross River citizens could design and renovate their homes; and

• assistance to study the development of three new subdivisions, among other requests.

In the six weeks since Caesar sent his letter to the Yukon government, Ross River has received no help apart from Hassard’s letter to the INAC minister, Caesar says in his letter to the candidates.

Canada has come through with some “minor emergency funding,” he says.

The federal government promised to renovate 10 homes at $25,000 each, demolish 10 others and build three duplexes.

“Unfortunately,” says Caesar, “these funds do not even come close to addressing the extent of the emergency in our community.”

INAC is providing the RRDC with $2.2 million for housing planning, renovations and construction, in addition the core funding it gives to Ross River for housing each year, spokesperon Erin Macphearson said in an email today.

"Providing and managing housing for First Nations living in the community of Ross River is the responsibility of the Ross River Dena Council. However, the Government of Canada does provide funding and support to the Ross River Dena Council to help provide safe and affordable housing," she said.

“INAC will continue to work together with Ross River Dena Council to find solutions to the current housing problems.”

In the 1960s, the Canadian government forced Ross River Dena Council citizens to relocate to their current site on the Canol Road south of the Pelly River.

The community, which is a member of the Kaska Tribal Council, now sits on permafrost, which has seen thawing as a result of climate change.

“Our old community had no permafrost issues and was chosen for good reason,” says Caesar in the letter.

“The actions of permafrost, and the lack of maintenance funding for RRDC homes, means that the condition of our homes continues to deteriorate, often very fast.”

Parcels of thawing permafrost sink relative to areas of frozen permafrost, and this can damage infrastructure and buildings sitting on top.

The situation in Ross River is made worse by the fact that the houses inherited by the community were in poor condition to begin with, says the letter.

“Each year, our community goes further and further into a hole we are unable to climb out of,” says Caesar’s letter.

“The health problems resulting from these toxic homes will be a significant cost in the long term. Many of our citizens struggle with addictions.

“There is no path to healing if you do not have a safe home.”