Cargo airships could boost northern housing

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/10/2019 (2477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As the federal political parties count down to the Oct. 21 election, they must have policy positions that speak to all national issues. Access to transportation is important to Canadians everywhere, so it would be valuable to learn the leaders’ positions on transportation access to the remote northern communities, and whether they have formed an opinion on the use of cargo airships to provide year-round freight transport.

The consequences of climate change and the economic living conditions in remote communities were highlighted internationally when the railway line to the Port of Churchill washed out. Almost immediately, the cost of food skyrocketed 200 per cent or more, construction projects had to be suspended and unemployment soared.

The shock wave knocked the local economy to its knees and forced many residents to leave the community. When the railway link was finally restored, the people of Churchill rejoiced about the end of their isolation and their return to the mainstream world economy.

As much as all Canadians were pleased to see Churchill’s economy restored, some 292 other remote communities in Northern Canada continue to live permanently with such deprivation, and even worse circumstances. Chronic unemployment, rampant diabetes, boil-water advisories, crowded housing, tuberculosis, food insecurity and, sadly, suicides still characterize too many remote villages — as recently evidenced at God’s Lake.

Despite governments spending billions of dollars and promising change, little progress is apparent. The reason is simple: nothing has been done to make the remote communities less remote.

Without year-round freight transport, the cost of repairing or building homes in the remote communities is very expensive. Annually, the federal government spends more than $300 million to support the housing needs of First Nations on reserves, but it is continually falling behind. Approximately 2,000 houses are built on reserves each year, while the Indigenous population is growing four times faster than the general Canadian population.

In 2015, the government of Canada estimated the northern housing gap at 35,000 to 40,000 homes.

According to a recent report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 51 per cent of all housing in remote Manitoba communities is classified as inadequate or unsuitable. Many houses have people sleeping in their living rooms; in these overcrowded conditions, with poor ventilation, the air can become contaminated with toxic moulds that cause respiratory diseases.

Such houses continue to be occupied, however, because there is no alternative. Many people in remote communities are just one step away from homelessness.

Bad housing conditions contribute to a host of negative health, education and social outcomes. Perry Bellegarde, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, summed up the consequences before the Senate standing committee on Aboriginal peoples: “Overcrowding and inadequate housing means the spread of communicable diseases and other negative impacts on health. It means the lack of space for children to play and study. It means the increased family tension that overcrowding creates and the lack of safe alternatives for family members if they fear violence.”

Year-round construction supported by cargo airships would go a long way toward building more, higher-quality housing. Construction materials delivered as needed would avoid loss and damage, and with annual employment, local people could acquire skilled-trade certifications and be able to maintain the housing stock in a timely manner.

Private-sector companies are investing in modern airship designs, but one company, Flying Whales, received direct investments from the governments of France and China. At the Paris Airshow in June 2019, Flying Whales announced an accord with the government of Quebec to invest in a branch plant in Montreal. This is a hopeful sign — no transportation networks have ever emerged without strong public support and encouragement, and private money follows public money.

Maybe Quebec leaders see something Manitoba and federal politicians cannot. Certainly, Winnipeggers would like to have well-paid aerospace jobs building airships, too. But the greatest economic gain would be felt in the remote communities that could use cargo airships.

When asked, provincial politicians always say that on-reserve housing is a federal matter; federal politicians point to the provinces to provide transportation access within their boundaries. Perhaps lost in this jurisdictional wrangling is that the people living in remote communities are still Canadians and deserve the same equity of access as all other citizens.

The temporary loss of the railway line to Churchill was just a climate-change warning shot. The potential effects of warming temperatures on northern transportation are alarming. Winter road seasons continue to shrink and all-season roads can be turned into roller-coasters by melting permafrost. If not cargo airships, then what transportation policy alternatives do political candidates offer to reduce economic disparities in remote communities and to adapt to their changing environment?

Election day is arriving soon, and the voters are waiting for bold ideas and leadership.

Barry Prentice is a professor of supply chain management at the University of Manitoba.