As the Trudeau government prepares to release this year’s federal budget, Indigenous organizations estimate it would take more than $425 billion to close the infrastructure gap in their communities by the government’s 2030 goal.
While the bulk of that staggering sum comes from the Assembly of First Nations’ nearly $350-billion assessment of the infrastructure gap facing an on-reserve population of 400,000, the assembly is not alone in this exercise.
The national organization for 70,000 Inuit in Canada says it would cost $75.1 billion to close the gap in Inuit Nunangat, the traditional northern Inuit homeland encompassing 51 communities and four regions.
Unless I mathed wrong, that’s over 1 million dollars per person that the AFN is estimating. Seems unrealistic to me, but I’m not an expert.
How much do you think it costs to build a water treatment plant on each of the 28 First Nations communities that have boil water advisories?
Or the cost of fixing/building the “estimated 85,700 existing housing units, 34% require minor repairs and 31% require major repairs. An additional 108,803 housing units are needed to address overcrowding, replacement, and population growth.” PDF source
Or the cost of repairing/replacing the “202 First Nations schools are overcrowded and require additions; 56 First Nations schools require immediate replacement based on reported poor conditions. Estimates indicate that First Nations are only being funded 23% of their educational capital needs when compared to the Government of Canada’s budget 2021 commitments.” PDF source
How much do you think it costs to…
I guess that’s my question. My estimate would easily be a factor of 10 lower.
A quick search gives me this for a treatment plant for a town in Ontario: $32 million (https://www.wellingtonadvertiser.com/erin-wastewater-treatment-plant-will-cost-town-up-to-32-million/). So we’re under a billion dollars and all 28 communities now have proper water. What are we even waiting for, let’s go!
At $200k to build per 1500 sq ft single family home (possibly aggressively low, but I’m using this to guide my numbers, and trying to go average: https://wowa.ca/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build-a-house), for 90000 homes we’re around $20 billion. Call it $25 billion with hookups (I don’t know if that was included on wowa.ca)
In 2018 it cost $30 million to build an elementary school in Thunder Bay. Let’s call it $50 million and for 56 schools we’re at 3 billion dollars.
Still only at $30 billion.
Does that include transportation costs to remote communities? Don’t forget that transportation is either by ice road or airplane, and global warming is shortening the ice road season to weeks instead of months.
Add 20% for remoteness and we’re at 36 billion
50% and we’re at 45. It’s not going to be 10-15 times more.
You are failing to include the true costs again.
Diesel fuel specifically represents nearly half of all cargo by weight transported over the study period and is used to generate a significant amount of electricity in communities in comparison to energy needs (as hydro lines are not built into many remote First Nations’ communities)
Construction materials delivered by air are being used in the building and renovating of community infrastructure, while transportation by water and by land are supported by air transportation (e.g. boats and snowmobiles brought in by air).
Air transportation in the north is dependent on air transportation due to the aviation gas and jet fuel being flown into remote communities.
Airlines face significant infrastructural and operating limitations that affect air service including a lack of weather reporting at 12 out of 26 remote airports (46%), inadequate de-icing facilities at remote airports, only two fueling points outside of bases, and short gravel runways that prohibit modern aircraft.
Source = “Northern Ontario Air Transportation and Remote Community Resilience and Wellbeing” https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/103693/1/Dimayuga_Pia_Isabel_202011_MAS_thesis.pdf
Well, think about it this way:
A standard house for 4 people is probably in the range of 200k - 400k. Then you would need supporting infrastructure for each house - sewage and gas pipe connections, electrical connections, road infrastructure, all that jazz. That’s probably another 100k right there. And then public infrastrcture for things like schools, parks, firefighters, police, road equipment, etc. It’s easy to see why the costs would add up quickly to roughly $1 million or more per person. Managing city infrastructure is really damn expensive, especially for more ineffective housing options (hellooooooooo, suburbia!).
The numbers you’ve listed are not even $1 million per 4 people, let alone per person.
I’m not saying it’s impossible, it just seems like a lot to me. Maybe it includes long term maintenance costs?
