Metis Citizen Warns of Future Lack of Physically Accessible Housing

Marie Francis is an MNO citizen living in region 7 who is also an ambulatory wheelchair user, meaning she sometimes walks with a cane and crutches too. “Being able to get into all the spaces in the community is really, really important to me,” says Francis.

The federal government recently released their housing plan which included building nearly 4 million new housing units by 2031. The plan includes ‘accessible’ housing, but it seems that reference is more in terms of peoples accessibility in entering the housing market and not physically being able to enter the units.

The Canadian government isn’t the only one building new housing units. The MNO has recently built two-bedroom town homes in Sault Ste. Marie renting at $1,055 per month. They will continue to build affordable housing in region 7 in Midland later this year, but Marie wants to take a pause and make sure that before we hit the ground running, we take a moment to make sure we’re building housing that reflects our Metis values and is inclusive of everyone in our community.

“I think we really want to look at what we're saying with our architecture, what we're saying with our design, and whether that reflects the lived experiences of our people,” says Francis.

With the future of Metis self government inching closer to being a reality, this will be an opportunity for the MNO to build a Nation that includes housing that is not a reflection of the colonial housing system in Canada, but one that is reflective of the community.