Tsleil-Waututh First Nation is taking the lead in a unique pilot program designed to build effective and efficient housing program for Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council members.

NmTC hosted a two-day seminar on housing and governance at the Coast Bastion Hotel in Nanaimo in early April with a supplementary session held on May 7. Invitations went out to all councils and their housing committees and staff.

Attending the initial meetings were members from Tsleil-Waututh, Snuneymuxw, Sna-naw-as and Homalco.

Nicole Hajash, NmTC’s governance coordinator, said the idea for the seminar grew out of recommendations put forward by leaders at last fall’s governance workshop organized by the tribal council.

“We saw that we had a role to play in assisting our member nations develop good housing policies and proper housing programs,” she said. “The workshop was just the first stage.

“Now we will be assisting Tsleil-Waututh in accessing funding to address a number of housing issues such as cleaning up arrears, entering formal housing agreements and holding community meetings on these matters.”

She said that other NmTC nations are expected to request similar assistance in the coming months but that NmTC would like to see the results of the Tsleil-Waututh pilot before moving forward so that the same mistakes are not repeated in other communities.

Four pillars of housing

Leading the NmTC seminar was Glenn Lawson of Comox-based Lawson Tessier and Associates. His company has worked with a wide range of First Nations throughout BC over the past 17 years on housing and capital programs as well as economic development initiatives.

Lawson told the group that there were four essential pillars to having effective First Nation housing programs:
• Organization;
• Capital housing program;
• Operations; and
• Governance.

A good organization is key because it includes chiefs and councils, membership, housing committees and capital programs with all parties needing to be on the same page to carry out a housing mandate.

Planning is essential in any capital housing program, said Lawson, because: “By failing to plan, we plan to fail”. A number of factors are vital in order to plan well including an inventory of housing, engagement of community members, proper administrative procedures, inclusion of community planning and, of course, funding and financing for a housing program.

Operations include managing housing clients and assets as well as financial management and regular and accurate reporting to INAC and CMHC. Good communications is key to all areas and includes community meetings, tenant meetings, counseling programs, maintenance workshops, homeowners’ manuals and newsletters.

Good, sound governance is the foundation for any successful housing program. It is the responsibility of band leaders to put in place all the agreements, policies and procedures in order that a First Nation’s housing committee has the tools to carry out its job properly.

Lawson gave seminar participants templates that could be used to create terms of reference for a housing committee that included a mission statement, code of conduct and a sample band council resolution for approving terms of reference.

He also presented templates for housing agreements, housing application procedures and social housing allocation policies.

For more information, contact Nicole Hajash at (250) 753-0190 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it