By Colton Swiderski

Flying Dust First Nation comes up with creative plan to improve housing

Aug 15, 2016 | 5:00 PM

With a minimal housing budget, Flying Dust First Nation (FDFN) has to come up with some creative ways to fill the reserve’s needs.

Each year, FDFN is given approximately $250,000 from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) which is supposed to cover all infrastructure bills. Carolyn Lachance, executive assistant for the band office, said after paying insurance on the homes, the band is left with approximately $50,000 for new homes and infrastructure repairs.

In June 2015, FDFN partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build an elders lodge then retrofit their homes for band members’ families to move into.

“Habitat for Humanity’s been a God-send because it’s allowed us to answer a need by our elders in so far as being isolated. Now we’ve given them an opportunity for communal living,” Lachance said. “In turn, that’s afforded our younger families an opportunity for home ownership they otherwise wouldn’t have had.”

The lodge is expected to be complete by mid-September with elders moving in by the end of the month.

Riderville

Now for the Hard Part

Dec 10, 2025

Grey Cup!!!

Everything you wanted and more

Nov 21, 2025

Ferland earns Grey Cup ring

'A wonderful human being': High school coach thrilled Logan Ferland is a Grey Cup champion

Nov 17, 2025

As elders move in, their homes will be retrofitted and repaired, then sold to a family for the cost of the repairs which are estimated to be between $20,000 and $50,000.

Lachance said the money from mortgages are put into a revolving fund and loaned to other families for repairs to their homes.

The lodge houses 10 elders, which means 10 houses are made available for families.

Currently, two houses are going through repairs with the retrofitting expected to take 18 months.

“Flying Dust is not alone in our budget woes, every program across the country is underfunded, there just isn’t enough money to go around so it’s up to each community to be creative in searching for projects to utilize to meet the community’s needs,” Lachance said.

Colton Swiderski is meadowlakeNOW’s municipal affairs, crime and court, health and education reporter. He can be reached at cswiderski@jpbg.ca or tweet him @coltonswiderski.