Canada's Economic Action Plan Creates Jobs and Improves Social Housing in British Columbia

COQUITLAM, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - March 17, 2011) - The Government of Canada announced today that 29 housing co-operatives located in British Columbia will receive more than $8.7 million through Canada's Economic Action Plan, as part of the social housing renovation and retrofit investments.

The announcement was made at the Hoy Creek Housing Co-operative by the Honourable Stockwell Day, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

"Our government is focused on the economy and creating jobs and growth for families," said Minister Day. "Canada's Economic Action Plan is funding renovation and retrofit projects like these ones to improve the quality of life of the residents by keeping their homes safe and affordable."

The Government of Canada, through Canada's Economic Action Plan, announced $1 billion for social housing renovation and retrofit. Of the $1 billion, $850 million is being delivered by provinces and territories on a cost-matched basis for existing federally assisted social housing projects which they administer on behalf of the partnership. The remaining $150 million is being delivered by CMHC for existing federally assisted off-reserve housing which it directly administers. Eligible repairs include general improvements, energy efficiency upgrades or conversions, and modifications in support of persons with disabilities.

The housing co-operatives that will receive contributions from the Government of Canada are outlined in the attached backgrounder.

"Without this initiative, co-ops would not be as able to make many of the repairs they need," said CHF Canada Executive Director Nicholas Gazzard. "Today's government funding initiatives for affordable housing will help to consolidate co-ops' success in delivering affordable, mixed-income housing programs at a reasonable cost."

"We cannot thank the Government of Canada and CMHC enough for approving our grant to upgrade the roofing for our co-op's 67 suite Creekview building," said Hugh Tait, President of the Hoy Creek Housing Co-operative. "This funding is enabling our co-op to stabilize itself while it strives to redevelop the remainder its buildings. Changes like this can make the difference in someone's life and provide our community with a safe and healthy environment for generations to come."

More information on this and other measures in Canada's Economic Action Plan, the federal government's plan to stimulate the economy and protect those hit hardest by the global recession, can be found at: www.actionplan.gc.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. 

Backgrounder attached.

BACKGROUNDER

The housing co-operatives that will receive contributions from the Government of Canada being announced today are:

Location	Housing Co-operative	Funding
Burnaby	Andras Place Housing Co-operative	$429,881
Delta	Arland Mews Housing Co-operative	$118,481
Abbotsford	Bakerview Housing Co-operative	$230,931
Richmond	Benryk Mews Housing Co-operative	$329,674
Burnaby	Bounty Housing Co-operative	$468,919
Vancouver	Charles Square Housing Co-operative	$11,168
Vancouver	Co-operative d'habitation Demers	$152,572
Burnaby	Edmonds Place Housing Co-operative	$87,504
Vancouver	Four Sisters Housing Co-operative	$197,876
Richmond	Greenland Housing Co-op	$394,118
Surrey	Guildtown Housing Co-operative	$505,327
Pitt Meadows	Harris Road Housing Co-operative	$404,693
Surrey	Hawthorne Co-operative Housing Association	$26,945
Coquitlam	Hoy Creek Housing Co-operative	$758,393
Fort St. John	Huntington Place Housing Co-operative	$275,749
Vancouver	Kitsilano Terrace Housing Co-operative	$194,897
Vancouver	Lakewood Terrace Housing Co-operative	$387,610
Richmond	Maya Housing Co-operative	$643,580
Vancouver	Mosquito Creek Housing Co-operative	$188,300
Vancouver	Mau Dan Gardens Co-operative	$1,400,700
Victoria	Northridge Housing Co-operative	$76,900
Burnaby	Nova Vita Housing Co-operative	$20,014
Port Moody	Salal Housing Co-operative	$305,004
Surrey	Sandpiper Housing Co-operative	$74,284
Kelowna	Southgate Manor Co-op Association	$121,328
Vancouver	Trafalgar Co-operative Housing Assoc.	$112,000
Victoria	Tyee Housing Co-operative	$508,454
New Westminster	Westminster Heights Housing Co-operative	$198,492
Vancouver	Wit's End Housing Co-operative	$149,772

RENOVATION AND RETROFIT OF EXISTING SOCIAL HOUSING ADMINISTERED BY CMHC

The Government of Canada's commitment to affordable housing is significant.

Overall, Canada's Economic Action Plan provides a total of $7.8 billion to build quality housing, stimulate construction, create jobs, encourage home ownership and enhance the energy efficiency of Canadian homes. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) will deliver more than $2 billion to provide new and renovated housing for more than 200,000 Canadian households.

Co-operative and non-profit housing represents an important form of housing for many low and moderate-income households. A portion of the existing units are aging and require repairs and upgrading to meet modern energy efficiency and accessibility standards.

As part of Canada's Economic Action Plan, the federal government will invest $1 billion to renovate and retrofit existing social housing. Of this amount, $850M will be used for existing social housing projects administered by Provinces and Territories, which are in receipt of annual Federal funding. Provinces and Territories are required to cost-share this funding on a 50-50 basis and are responsible for program design and delivery.

The remainder of the $1 billion, $150 million will be delivered over two years to address the needs of existing social housing units directly funded and administered by CMHC. This $150 million is targeted, under the Renovation and Retrofit of Existing Social Housing Initiative (the "Renovation and Retrofit Initiative"), to off-reserve federally funded and administered social housing units currently subject to an operating agreement under a National Housing Act social housing program. The following criteria will apply to the $150M being delivered by CMHC:

• This initiative will help address the demand for renovation, general improvement, energy efficiency upgrade or conversion, regeneration and modifications for persons with disabilities.
• Applicants must have the capacity to undertake work quickly and must meet all other program eligibility criteria.
• Priority will be given to sponsors who have managed their projects well and who do not have sufficient funds in their replacement reserve to carry out repairs.

Eligible repairs include, but are not limited to repairs to existing building components, replacement or construction of worn out major building components, major building services, basic facilities and equipment.