The big jump in costs, the corporation explained, is because construction costs have increased "significantly" in the last year due to the pandemic. These forecasted numbers, the department continued, don't include costs for "ongoing operations and maintenance, future … repairs or capital replacements." The N.W.T. Housing Corporation didn't provide any other information on how they got to this estimate. Paulie Chinna, the territory's housing minister, told CBC they're doing what they can to explain the extent of the crisis to their counterparts in Ottawa. "It would be a lot of time and programming to be honest, but we don't have $500 [million] as a territory to begin with," she said.