Governments of Canada and Quebec Invest in Affordable Housing in Sherbrooke

SHERBROOKE, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Nov. 11, 2011) - The Honourable Andrée Champagne, 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), and Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, Minister of International Relations, Minister responsible for La Francophonie and Minister responsible for the Estrie region, on behalf of Laurent Lessard, Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy, participated today in the official opening of the Coopérative de solidarité en habitation La Grande Vie and the Coopérative de solidarité l'Habitation des Haubans, two projects providing a total of 90 housing units for single persons and semi-independent seniors, to which the governments of Canada and Québec jointly contributed nearly $4.3 million. The development of this great local initiative resulted from a total investment of over $8.5 million.

In addition to the Government of Canada, through Canada's Economic Action Plan and the Affordable Housing Initiative Program Extension Agreement, and the Government of Québec, under the AccèsLogis Québec program of the Société d'habitation du Québec (SHQ), community partners contributed over $1.6 million, including nearly $1.4 million from the City of Sherbrooke.

"The Government of Canada is providing a hand-up to those who need it most here in Sherbrooke and in all corners of the country," said Senator Champagne. "Federal investments of more than $3 million helped to create new jobs and stimulate the local economy, while providing 90 affordable rental housing units for single persons and seniors, here in this community."

"The development of these two co-operatives that are providing 90 households in Sherbrooke with quality, affordable housing that meets their needs is excellent news and demonstrates the importance that our government attaches to improving the living conditions of the citizens of Québec. Congratulations to all the partners who joined the SHQ in ensuring the construction of these housing projects," said Minister Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, in the presence of Bernard Sévigny, Mayor of Sherbrooke; Alyre Poirier, President of the Coopérative de solidarité en habitation La Grande Vie; Jacques Lemay, President of the Coopérative de solidarité l'Habitation des Haubans; and community partners.

It should be noted that 72 tenants of the two housing projects will be able to 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 $1.2 million in additional financial assistance, including nearly $1.1 million from the SHQ and some $121,000 from the City of Sherbrooke.

The Government of Québec has committed to supporting the projects with a grant totalling over $160,000 to ensure that the buildings meet the Novoclimat standard. The SHQ is giving particular attention to energy efficiency. All projects developed under the AccèsLogis Québec program must be designed so as to obtain the Novoclimat certification.

Canada's Economic Action Plan provided $400 million, over two years, to build new rental housing for low-income seniors. Overall, Canada's Economic Action Plan included $2 billion for new and existing social housing, plus $2 billion in low-cost loans to municipalities for housing-related infrastructure.

Canada's Economic Action Plan builds on the Government of Canada's commitment in 2008 of more than $1.9 billion, over five years, to improve and build new affordable housing and help the homeless. As part of this commitment, the Affordable Housing Initiative was extended for two years. For Québec, 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 Québec 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 Québec. 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 870 community housing units have been, or are being, developed in the Estrie region, including 234 in the riding of Sherbrooke, representing total investments of over $80 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 Québec. For more information on this agency's programs and services, visit www.habitation.gouv.qc.ca/en/index.html.