WHITEHORSE, Yukon, October 3, 2002 — David Collenette, Minister of Transport and Minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation together with Pam Buckway, Minister responsible for the Yukon Housing Corporation today announced a Canada-Yukon Affordable Housing Agreement. As a result, approximately 400 affordable housing units will be created or preserved in the Yukon, over the next five years.
Federal funding of $5.5 million together with matching contributions from the Yukon Territory, demonstrates a commitment to work together to address the need for affordable housing.
"More residents of the Yukon will be able to gain access to affordable housing thanks to this agreement we are signing today," said Minister Collenette "This tenth bilateral agreement, signed in the past ten months, confirms the Government of Canada's commitment to providing strong, safe communities throughout the Yukon and, in fact, all of Canada. It also shows that partnerships between two levels of government can work effectively to achieve commonly held goals."
"We are encouraged by the willingness of the Government of Canada to provide funding which can address the specific housing needs of Yukoners. We will be able to provide new social housing as well as preserve existing homes, particularly in rural Yukon." said Minister Buckway.
"Today`s agreement will make an important difference for people in need of affordable housing in Yukon." said Larry Bagnell, Member of Parliament for Yukon.
Funding under this agreement will be used for two territorially designed programs. Programs that will support the creation of new social housing and major home repairs on affordable housing that would otherwise be lost from the stock.
Stimulating the creation of more affordable housing was part of the Government of Canada's, Speech From the Throne, in January 2001 and the $680 million in federal funding was confirmed in the December 2001 federal budget. The federal investment of $680 million over five years will result in an estimated 27,000 affordable housing units.
Persons and organizations interested in more details on this initiative should contact Yukon Housing Corporation (YHC).
For further information please contact:
| Anthony Polci Communications Director Office of Minister Collenette (613) 991-0700 |
Bernie Adilman Cabinet Communications Advisor (867) 667-8075 bernie.adilman@gov.yk.ca |
The 2001 Speech From the Throne indicated the Government of Canada would help stimulate the creation of more affordable rental housing. The federal/provincial/territorial housing ministers met twice to finalize details of an affordable housing initiative that would address the needs and priorities of individual jurisdictions while meeting the goal of increasing the supply of affordable housing. The final framework was developed and agreed to on November 30, 2001 and includes the following:
To date bilateral agreements have been signed with British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nova Scotia and Manitoba.
The $5.5 million federal contribution over the next five years builds on current Government of Canada housing activities in the Yukon Territory. The Government of Canada annually supports housing with approximately $8.0 million in grants, contributions and subsidies which serve some 1,000 low income families, seniors, persons with disabilities, Aboriginal people and victims of domestic violence.
This includes funding for existing social housing and for the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP), Home Adaptations for Seniors' Independence (HASI), Emergency Repair Program (ERP) and the Shelter Enhancement Program (SEP).
Through its Accountability Plan, Yukon Housing Corporation has a primary responsibility of assisting people to meet their housing needs. This is accomplished through improving the quality of housing and providing Social Housing to serve the changing needs of clients. Current statistical research indicates that Yukon's seniors population is growing and this generates unique challenges for Yukon Housing Corporation. In addition, the Community Housing Studies which were completed in 2000 provide a current assessment of housing in the Yukon. These studies indicate that a substantial number of homes in rural Yukon are in need of major repair. The Affordable Housing Agreement will enable Yukon Housing Corporation to provide new resources to address the identified housing needs of low-income Yukoners.
Objectives:
Programs:
Funding under this agreement will be used to:
Administration:
Financial Provisions:
Accountability:
Communications: