Governments of Canada and Quebec and City of Gatineau Open New Housing for Families and Single Persons

GATINEAU, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Nov. 14, 2011) - The Honourable Suzanne Fortin-Duplessis, Senator, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC); Charlotte L'Écuyer, Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for Pontiac, on behalf of Laurent Lessard, Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy; and Marc Bureau, Mayor of the City of Gatineau, are pleased to mark the official opening of Habitations Broad, a project that provides 55 housing units for families and single persons and for which the governments of Canada and Quebec jointly contributed an amount of nearly $3.4 million. The development of this initiative required a total investment of over $6.7 million.

In addition to the Government of Canada, through the Affordable Housing Initiative Program Extension Agreement, and the Government of Quebec, under the AccèsLogis Québec program of the Société d'habitation du Québec (SHQ), the City of Gatineau contributed over $830,000.

"The Government of Canada is providing a hand-up to those who need it most here in Gatineau and in all corners of the country," said Senator Fortin-Duplessis. "We are pleased that the federal investments of close to $1.3 million helped to provide 55 units of affordable rental housing for families and single persons here in Gatineau."

"Our government has committed to making more affordable housing available to the people of Quebec, and the development of Habitations Broad truly reflects this commitment. A great example of what can be achieved when the community comes together, this new housing project is providing 55 households with quality housing that meets their financial capacity, and with a pleasant and stimulating living environment. Congratulations to all the partners who joined the SHQ to contribute to this great success," said MNA Charlotte L'Écuyer, in the presence of Denis Bergeron, President of the Habitations de l'Outaouais métropolitain; Jasmine Sasseville, member of the Board of Directors of the Société d'habitation du Québec; and community partners.

"Habitations Broad is among the projects developed as part of the objective of 700 new affordable housing units that the City of Gatineau set for itself for the period from 2006 to 2009. I am proud to say that this objective has been exceeded, as 706 affordable housing units were approved during this period. Habitations Broad represents a fine example of social mix within residential projects," said Gatineau Mayor Marc Bureau.

It should be noted that 28 tenants of the Habitations Broad project can benefit from the Rent Supplement program, which provides financial assistance to low-income individuals who would otherwise have to spend more than 25 per cent of their income on housing. The rent supplements provided will represent, over a five-year period, more than $439,000 in additional financial assistance, including over $395,000 from the SHQ and nearly $44,000 from the City of Gatineau.

The SHQ is giving particular attention to energy efficiency. In fact, all projects developed under the AccèsLogis Québec program must be designed so as to obtain the Novoclimat certification.

In 2008, the Government of Canada committed more than $1.9 billion over five years to improve and build new affordable housing and to help the homeless. As part of this commitment, the Affordable Housing Initiative was extended for two years. Canada's Economic Action Plan builds on this with an additional one-time investment of more than $2 billion to build new and renovate existing social housing for low-income Canadians, plus $2 billion in low-cost loans to municipalities for housing-related infrastructure. For Quebec, these combined contributions mean a joint investment of more than $820 million, which includes $538 million for Canada's Economic Action Plan.

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.

In the 2011/2012 budget, the Government of Quebec announced that it intends to build an additional 2,000 community housing units, bringing to 32,000 units its objective of producing new affordable housing in Quebec. This represents an additional contribution of $140 million under the AccèsLogis Québec program, and brings to more than $1.4 billion the total assistance provided since 2003.

Since 2003, close to 1,180 community housing units have been, or are being, developed in the Outaouais region, including 249 in the riding of Pontiac, representing total investments of over $144.6 million by the governments and their partners.

The SHQ's mission is to facilitate citizens' access to appropriate housing conditions. In 2010, the SHQ supported more than 240,000 households across Quebec. For more information on this agency's programs and services, visit www.habitation.gouv.qc.ca/en/index.html.