St. Stephen, July 13, 2005 -- The Government of Canada and the Province of New Brunswick officially opened today a new affordable housing project in St. Stephen, Charlotte County. Funded under the Canada-New Brunswick Affordable Housing Agreement, the $1.1M project involves 12 new units of affordable housing for low-to moderate-income families.The announcement was made by Senator Joseph Day, on behalf of the Honourable Joe Fontana, Minister of Labour and Housing and the Honourable Tony Huntjens, Minister of Family and Community Services."The Government of Canada is committed to supporting affordable housing in New Brunswick," said Senator Day. "We are pleased that the residents of St. Stephen have now 12 affordable housing units in their community. Together with the province and local partners, we are helping to build healthy, safe and sustainable communities."The 12-unit apartment project developed by the St. Croix Valley Housing Co-op, a non-profit housing co-operative, received a capital contribution of $420,000 provided by the Government of Canada, and $480,000 in long term rent supplements for all twelve units provided by the Provincial government."We are pleased to get the support of non-profit organizations to help meet the needs for affordable housing in New Brunswick," said Tony Huntjens, Minister of Family and Community Services. "The Affordable Housing Agreement gives us the opportunity to partner with groups like the St. Croix Valley Housing Co-op Ltd. to purchase, build or renovate homes in order to create affordable housing in our province."To date, 18 projects have been approved for funding under the Canada-New Brunswick Affordable Housing Agreement. These projects represent a total of 245 new construction housing units in New Brunswick, involving 164 new rent supplement units.These investments exceed $18.5 million under the Canada-New Brunswick Affordable Housing Agreement. This amount consists of $12.7 million in lifetime costs for rent supplements and $5.8 million in capital grant contributions.For further information, please contact:Robert DuguayCommunicationsFamily and Community Services(506) 444-3684Giselle Thibault, ConsultantMarketing and CommunicationsCMHC(902) 222-2949Canada-New Brunswick Affordable Housing AgreementPhase I Objectives:To create and sustain rental housing for low-to moderate-income New Brunswick households through new construction or rehabilitation.Housing must be affordable for at least 10 years. Program:Funding under this agreement will be used for a Rental Housing Program:Funding is available to private non-profits, cooperatives, community or private developers interested in developing projects for low- to moderate-income families, seniors, individuals, disabled persons, and persons with special needs. Administration:The program will be administered by the New Brunswick Department of Family and Community Services.Family and Community Services is responsible for the selection of affordable housing projects. Financial Provisions:Maximum CMHC funding under the agreement is $14.98 million to be matched by the Province of New Brunswick for a total of $29.96 million.Overall average CMHC funding will not exceed $25,000 per unit.Province of New Brunswick will provide rent supplements for low and moderate income households who occupy their housing. Phase II The recently announced Phase II of the Agreement increases the total investment under the Canada-New Brunswick Affordable Housing Program Agreement by $15.14 million in funding by 2008. The Government of New Brunswick will contribute at least 50 per cent of the matching funding; up to 10 per cent may come from municipalities and other third parties.Under Phase II, funding will be:used for the Rental Housing Program in Phase I plus a new rent supplement program;targeted to urban areas with considerable housing needs; andtargeted to persons on or eligible to be on a waiting list for social housing.
