Salluit man describes 8-month struggle to find home for family

James Tarkirk says he and his family have been waiting for a home in Salluit for eight months. (Photo provided by James Tarkirk)

A Salluit bylaw officer says he has been in an eight-month battle with the Nunavik Housing Bureau to obtain a home for himself and his family.

James Tarkirk, 24, lives with his partner, Alaku Poassie, who is seven months pregnant, and their two children ages three and four.

He said he has moved from place to place while struggling to get answers for when the housing bureau will have a home ready for his family to move into.

Currently, he's staying at his mother's place short-term while she is in Montreal. He might stay in the south permanently if he can't get a house in Salluit soon, he said.

The Nunavik Housing Bureau takes care of accommodation for nearly 98 per cent of Nunavik Inuit, under the Quebec Housing Corp. Tarkirk said he has successfully submitted two applications for housing — the first in November and another on July 4.

He tried multiple times between November and July, but his applications were rejected based on issues like missing information or identification.

"We are completely unstable, and this is what stresses me out the most," he said, pointing to his partner's pregnancy, which he said adds fuel to his worries.

Tarkirk, who also works as a volunteer firefighter and first responder, said the answers he's received are unclear and too vague for someone who is expecting a baby in two months.

He said when he called the housing bureau for information, he was bounced around between the head office in Kuujjuaq, the Salluit office and the Quebec government, with everybody telling him he needs to follow procedure.

What frustrates him more is the number of vacant homes he sees in his community.

So Tarkirk started filming his interactions at the housing bureau office in Salluit and posting them on social media.

"What I am trying to do now is to shake this organization the best I can," he said.

In a French email response to Nunatsiaq News, the housing bureau's communication director, Patrice St-Amour, said the bureau is empathetic to Tarkirk's situation.

However, it accuses him of using intimidation, foul language and threats.

Tarkirk said he faces criminal harassment charges for alleged actions against a housing manager in Salluit and is to appear in court Oct. 23.

Nunavik Police Service declined to comment, saying the matter is considered to be a complaint at this point.

In his July 4 housing application, Tarkirk "insisted that he needed a home immediately for [his family]," said St-Amour. "We explained to him clearly the process to acquire a unit," both in July and when he first applied in November 2023.

"We understand here that in his behaviour, he does not conform to the rules and process of housing allocation," St-Amour said, "and threatened [the housing bureau] by exercising social and media pressure to privilege his own situation."

Concerning vacant homes, St-Amour said that during the summer, it's common for renovations to happen, and sometimes homes sit empty while waiting for materials to arrive.

St-Amour said Tarkirk is classified as first priority for a three-bedroom unit and second priority for a two-bedroom unit. However, he did not provide a timeline for when a home might be ready.

Until then, he noted, Tarkirk's mother and grandfather-in-law live in two- and three-bedroom units respectively.

"According to our employees, none of them have issues with him living with them while waiting to obtain a unit according to the equity rules established for all applicants," St-Amour said in the email.

Tarkirk said he can't live with his grandfather because the house is infested with bedbugs and he had a severe reaction to being bitten, with red welts forming over his body.

He said due to family issues, his mom's house is not a reasonable place for his family to live long-term.

When presented with the information the housing bureau provided in its email response, Tarkirk was surprised.

"It freaks me out that I had to go through [Nunatsiaq News] to get my answers," he said.

"I had to push for over eight months to have the answers I received, and it was not through [the housing bureau]."

He still disagrees with the housing bureau on many of his concerns but said its explanation provided him with enough hope to reconsider moving south.

"In the future, if they give answers to people like that it will help," he said. "People won't have to push and search for answers."

- This report by Nunatsiaq News / The Local Journalism Initiative was first published on July 22, 2024.