A housing pilot project based in Dawson City is one of four works highlighted in the Conference Board of Canada's latest report on northern housing released last month.

The project, a public-private partnership, sought to develop a home that used 50 per cent less energy than a home built to 1997 standards.

The E2 house, as it was called, was a partnership between the Yukon Housing Corp., the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), the Tr'ondek Hwech'in and Han Construction.

The goal was to build a house that could serve as a model for sustainable housing in the North.

In 2009, a duplex with a similar mandate was constructed.

A key aspect of the project, featured prominently in the report, was the high level of community involvement.

The Tr'ondek Hwech'in First Nation consulted its community members to determine the needs of the community and the needs of the future occupants of the homes. Han Construction is a Tr'ondek Hwech'in company.

In a Dec. 13 release, Tr'ondek Hwech'in Chief Eddie Taylor said the First Nation is pleased the project received "positive attention” in the report, but noted that many of the innovations resulting from the collaborative project are no longer possible due to federal government policy changes.

"(Tr'ondek Hwech'in) has utilized CHMC support to build homes for many years – a relationship that has yielded quality homes for (Tr'ondek Hwech'in) citizens. Utilizing their assistance, however, was made impossible in 2010, when the federal government advised they would no longer provide ministerial loan guarantees (MLG) to First Nations building on land that wasn't once land set aside or reserve land. The MLG is required to obtain CMHC assistance,” the release says.

"We are very proud of what our housing program has achieved,” said Chief Taylor. "The consultation and cultural elements that went into our homes resulted in homes that met the needs of our people.

"It is unfortunate groundbreaking projects like those described in the Conference Board of Canada's report are no longer possible, but we are hopeful the positive attention this project is receiving will lead to the overturn of the rules that undermine our ability to provide housing to our people,” he said in the release.

The report notes the CMHC developed its northern sustainable housing project hoping it "would provide a different process and different standards to address ‘the same issues, the same challenges, that keep coming up (in northern housing).'

"Those involved in the initiative understood the importance of meaningful community engagement as an integral element in the development of appropriate northern housing,” the report continues.

"Too often, northern housing programs and policy-makers react to the need, instead of planning for it.

"The result is that generation after generation, we end up with the same problems. Breaking this reactionary cycle requires facilitating meaningful dialogue at the community level to ensure that housing portfolios are being managed for the benefits and meet the requirements of community members – aboriginal and non-aboriginal.”

Juergen Korn, the research and development project manager for the territory's housing corporation and a professional engineer, worked on the 2006 project highlighted in the report.

He said it was a "very educational process” for everyone involved in the project.

"In the end, I think we came up with a very nice design, very functional, not elaborate or anything like that, just a nice simple layout, simple design and it worked very well, and very efficient and so on,” he said.

"It was made more accessible and more functional for northern environment, a large entryway so you could store your boots and jackets and things like that. There was more space. The bathroom was a little bigger so you could accommodate a walker and perhaps a wheel chair and that sort of thing. It was much more practical and well thought out design.”

A 50 per cent reduction in overall heating isn't a difficult goal, according to Korn.

"There's significant improvements that could be made to the way we build houses right now, with very simple changes in design and improving our construction practices, selecting the right equipment.

"We can improve by doing the proper design work on ventilation systems, on mechanical systems and building tighter houses with more insulation and better windows and so on.

"The upfront cost, there is a slight increase in capital costs, but the long-term benefits are energy savings that are significant and real and improve comfort.”

If they're simple changes, the question remains: why aren't they being made across the board?

Korn said he thinks people really need to experience living in more energy-efficient homes to understand just how worthwhile the extra upfront costs are.

There are some people who don't believe the paybacks are there or they take too long, said Korn.

However, calculations show that energy savings are greater than extra monthly mortgage payments that may result from higher input costs.

"The good news is though there are probably a dozen builders out there that are building only super-insulated houses and they're getting really good responses from their clients because they use so much less energy and they're more comfortable to live in,” said Korn.

"And they're not that difficult to build. It's not a big stretch to go from standard construction, and I think the City of Whitehorse, with their new energy bylaw, they've raised the bar to get everybody on the same level playing field, and that's a really good thing.”

But, he said, "We could still take it further.”