If they want to improve aboriginal housing, then they have to start by being honest about the problems. One of the main problems is that people don't pay their rent. Without rent money coming in, there's no money to fix existing houses or to build new ones. During her hunger strike Theresa Spence admitted that people not paying rent was one of the biggest causes of Attawapiskat's housing crisis.

In BC, it is so bad that as of 2009, BC band members collectively owed their bands $331 million in unpaid rent. That could have built a lot of houses.

"Historically, the lack of rent revenues has caused bands to funnel money from other priorities, including education, to service debts accumulated to fund housing construction. While the federal government has recently tightened rules to prevent those diversions, the legacy of poor housing management can be directly linked to almost all social issues, including the plight over missing and murdered women, "