Governments of Canada and New Brunswick Celebrate New Affordable Housing in Sussex

SUSSEX, NEW BRUNSWICK--(Marketwire - July 7, 2011) - The Government of Canada and the Province of New Brunswick celebrated the official opening today of a new affordable housing project for low-income families, individuals, and persons with disabilities in Sussex.

The Honourable Rob Moore, Member of Parliament for Fundy Royal, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC); and the Honourable Sue Stultz, New Brunswick Minister of Social Development and Minister Responsible for Housing, made the announcement today.

"These housing units are a vital addition to the community, a new place to call home for low-income families, individuals and people with disabilities," said MP Moore. "Our Government is making investments like this because we understand that having a safe and affordable place to call home is important to Canadian families and their communities."

"This is an exciting day for the people of Sussex," said Stultz. "The construction of this facility provides low-income individuals, families and people with disabilities with the housing support and opportunity they may need. We appreciate the tireless work of all the people who came together to make this project a reality."

The Freeze Court development, located in Sussex, was developed by Sussex Resource Centre Inc., a non-profit organization. The development received $960,000 in federal funding toward construction costs and more than $1.8 million in rent supplements for all 24 units from the provincial government.

Freeze Court was built to high energy-efficiency standards, and involved consultation with Efficiency NB. Builders of affordable housing projects, for low-income individuals, may receive an incentive of $2,000 per apartment unit if the building is heated by low greenhouse gas emission technologies as approved by Efficiency NB.

Funding for this project was made available as a result of a joint investment under the amended Canada-New Brunswick Affordable Housing Program Agreement.

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. Canada's Economic Action Plan builds on this with an additional one-time investment of more than $2 billion over two years to build new and renovate existing social housing, plus up to $2 billion in low-cost loans to municipalities for housing-related infrastructure.

The amendment to the Canada-New Brunswick Affordable Housing Program Agreement, which implements the two year extension of the Affordable Housing Initiative as well as funding under Canada's Economic Action Plan brings $42.7 million in federal funding to the province. The Government of New Brunswick is matching that commitment for a total of $85.3 million to assist those in housing need and, in collaboration with other levels of government and community partners, to make various types of affordable housing programs possible.

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.