Published 3:12 am Tuesday, July 28, 2026 It’s been one year since Ida Kuliktana began asking the Nunavut Housing Corporation (NHC) to remove the mould in her home. It’s been three months since Kate Mingilgak and her teenage daughter moved back into the mouldy public housing unit with Kuliktana, her mother. It’s been more than a month days since Mingilgak’s youngest daughter was born. The family of four in Cambridge Bay say they are all feeling ill. “They get headaches, my older daughter keeps getting really sick. I wake up with a stuffy nose,” Mingilgak said. But repeated attempts to get Cambridge Bay’s NHC office to either remove the mould or move the family have been unsuccessful. NHC told Nunavut News that it couldn’t comment on specific clients to protect their privacy. Mingilgak said a housing manager told her that “they can’t do anything.” Photos provided by Mingilgak clearly illustrate other problems with the home, including holes in walls and deteriorated floorboards. The bathroom tiles are badly cracked. “I forgot to say there are worms,” Mingilgak added. Cambridge Bay MLA Fred Pedersen is aware of the family’s housing woes. “I have spoken with her mother regarding this. Presently, there are no available public housing units in Cambridge Bay for tenants to move to. Easiest way for tenants to move is to find another tenant that wants to trade units, then both parties can go to the housing association and make the request,” Pedersen said. Community housing associations partner directly with NHC. Pedersen said new housing units are being constructed in Cambridge Bay, and that will hopefully alleviate such problems for people like Mingilgak and her family. “All public housing units are on a schedule for remediation and mould work, if required. And all communities have a wait-list for public housing,” Pedersen said. On Jan. 23, NHC finished construction of 21 new public housing units in Cambridge Bay. The agency plans on finishing another 29 residences in the community by 2030. In 2023, there were 153 people on the public housing wait-list in Cambridge Bay. In 2011, there were 150 people on the wait-list. Nunavut News asked NHC for the updated number of people waiting for a housing unit, but no reply came prior to press deadline. “That’s what we live with,” Mingilgak said.
Family getting sick from mouldy public housing in Cambridge Bay cant find a way out
