Published 8:00 am Tuesday, August 18, 2026 By William Koblensky Varela Local Journalism Initiative Northern News Service Inuit labourers are building homes in Nunavut thanks to an agreement between Nunavut Housing Corporation, NCC Investment Group and Arctic Fresh. A 12-unit housing complex and an eight-unit development are under construction in Iglulik, a 12-unit complex is being built in Coral Harbour and an eight-unit building is in the works in Sanirajak. In Sanikiluaq, an 8-plex is under construction and six units are being built in Grise Fiord. Nunavut Housing Corporation (NHC) said homes in Sanirajak are expected to finish construction in October and the Coral Harbour units should be ready on November. In Iglulik, the construction on the two projects is scheduled to wrap up in April 2027, Sanikiluak is expected to finish in July 2027, and Grise Fiord should be done by October 2027. NHC would not say how much the projects cost because they are currently under construction and that information is commercially sensitive. However, costs have increased from initial estimates, NHC acknowledged. The entire 65 labourer crew for the projects are Inuit, according to Merlyn Recinos, co-CEO of Arctic Fresh. “We have been really successful with our Inuit employment and training development,” he said. “One of the things we wanted to do is build more homes. It’s good for the community, good for us that we have more work that allows us to advance our Inuit training and development plans.” Arctic Fresh has a labour-only contract with NCC to recruit and train Inuit labourers to build the homes. NCC Investments would not disclose how much they’re paying Arctic Fresh for the labour contract. Nunavut Housing Corporation did not say how much the homes cost to build when Nunavut News inquired. Recinos said Arctic Fresh conducts community engagement to recruit employees. “We assess and pay on experience,” he said. “So, as an example of that, if somebody comes in and has a Level 3 experience or a red seal experience, but they’re not certified, we’re paying them as a red seal.” A red seal tradesperson is the highest national standard of knowledge for a given trade. Labourers are given micro-certifications for their experience through the EduNorth vocational education program. “As they’re putting up drywall, they’re also learning about all of the things to do with drywall. So they’re not just putting it up. Once they finish it, there’s an assessment done up,” Recinos said. The construction crew is also tutored by charity United for Literacy to help them pass assessments. Hiring 65 employees to build 40 homes is more than enough for the projects Recinos said, and it gives Arctic Fresh leeway to offer more time off. “We also are very conscious of Inuit traditions, hunting, harvesting. Our guys, when they want to go walrus hunting, caribou hunting or fishing or anything like that, they just request it and they go,” he said. The 40 homes will go towards the GN’s Nunavut 3000 goal of building 3,000 homes between 2022 and 2030.
65 Inuit labourers building 54 homes in five Nunavut communities
