The Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, and the City of London today celebrated the opening 52 new affordable rental units. The project is supported by more than $3.6 million in funding under the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program.
Ed Holder, Member of Parliament for London West, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC); the Honourable Deb Matthews, Member of Provincial Parliament for London North Centre and Minister of Children and Youth Services, on behalf of the Honourable Jim Watson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; Anne Marie DeCicco-Best, Mayor, City of London; and Brian Loubert, Vice-President of Homes Unlimited (London) attended the event.
Today's announcement recognized the official opening of Nelson Place located at 570 Nelson Street. The $7.6 million project will be occupied by individuals and families living on low income.
The federal and provincial allocations to the project were complemented by almost $1.3 million in municipal financial incentives.
The Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program Agreement, signed in 2005, comprises a commitment of $301 million from each of the two senior levels of government. In total, the federal, provincial and municipal governments will invest at least $734 million in the program, which will provide affordable housing for up to 20,000 households in Ontario.
Last fall, the Government of Canada committed more than $1.9 billion over the next five years to improve and build new affordable housing and to help the homeless. Canada's Economic Action Plan builds on this with an additional one-time investment of more than $2 billion over two years in new and existing social housing and lending of up to another $2 billion to municipalities for housing-related infrastructure. Combined for Ontario, this means a further $1.2-billion joint investment under the amended Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program Agreement. The federal and provincial governments are contributing equally to this overall investment.
Ontario is moving quickly to implement this additional funding, which increases the number of "quick start" projects to 39 totaling over $76.5 million and which will improve access to affordable housing for low-income families, seniors and persons with disabilities. It will also create jobs and strengthen local economies. To find out more about affordable housing in Ontario, visit www.mah.gov.on.ca.
To find out more about how the Government of Canada and CMHC are working to build stronger homes and communities for all Canadians, call CMHC at 1-800-668-2642 or visit www.cmhc.ca/housingactionplan. For more information on Canada's Economic Action Plan, call 1-800-O Canada or visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.