Affordable housing gets boost from feds
Vancouver says it will receive $51.5 million of the federal funding for affordable housing, while Surrey will get $16 million.
The federal government announced Tuesday a new $1-billion Rapid Housing Initiative to create up to 3,000 new, permanent, affordable-housing units across Canada. Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart said Vancouver is on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic and the overdose crisis, and welcomed the “much-needed” funding to secure homes for vulnerable people.
The funding is in response to discussions about COVID-19 plans between the federal government and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Big City Mayors Caucus.
The money will be in addition to Vancouver's $30-million emergency COVID-19 housing plan to support homeless residents.
Surrey also welcomed its $16.3-million share of the funding for permanent housing, which the city says will create a minimum of 33 units of new permanent affordable housing in Surrey.
“In order to affect real change in affordable housing, senior levels of government have to step up and partner with municipalities on this front,” Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum said in a statement on Tuesday. “As one of the fastest growing cities in the country, I am very pleased that Surrey has been identified to receive federal funding from this very worthwhile housing initiative.”
The Rapid Housing Initiative is delivered through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. and the funds can go to cover the construction of modular housing, the purchase of land and the conversion of existing buildings to affordable housing.
The federal government says the funding will be provided in two streams: $500 million in immediate support for predetermined municipalities (like Surrey and Vancouver) with severe homelessness and renter issues, and $500 million for projects based on applications from provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous governing bodies and organizations, and non-profit groups.
Applications for the latter were accepted starting yesterday until Dec. 31.