North York, Ontario, April 3, 2013 – Local families now have access to a one-stop shop for social services with the opening of the new 7,000 square foot Bathurst-Finch Hub.
The facility will deliver a wide range of benefits for residents. Social service providers will be able to offer classes, career counselling and training all under one roof to clients in an accessible and modern environment, improving and streamlining service delivery. Settlement service providers will also offer employment counselling and housing assistance for new Canadians.
"This new centre will make a real difference in the lives of local residents, especially families, job seekers and new Canadians,"
said Mark Adler, Member of Parliament for York Centre. "Our government is proud to have invested in this project that created local jobs and will deliver much needed services to help people improve their future."
"Our government is investing in projects like this one to create jobs, stimulate local economies and improve the quality of life for local families,"
said Monte Kwinter, Member of Provincial Parliament for York Centre. "For many years to come, this dynamic community hub will provide a space where residents and families can gather to access health and social services, get training, and learn."
"With its wide range of services and programs including health care, settlement, employment and legal, together with its community meeting space, the Bathurst-Finch Hub is quickly becoming an important place in the lives of the neighbourhood's residents and grassroots groups,"
said Michelle Joseph, CEO, Unison Health and Community Services.
"This beautiful building represents the hard work and generosity of many partners and it's great to see it all come together,"
said Susan McIsaac, President and CEO, United Way Toronto. "This is the fifth Community Hub we've launched as part of our Building Strong Neighbourhood Strategy. The Bathurst-Finch Hub is increasing vital community space and access to local services for individuals, families and residents."
The governments of Canada and Ontario each contributed $1 million towards the Bathurst-Finch Community Hub through the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund. United Way Toronto donors the Polar Foundation and the S.Schulich Foundation generously contributed $1 million towards the total project cost of $3 million.
The new building also contains Unison Health and Community Services' satellite Community Health Centre, which was funded by the Government of Ontario. The centre offers health care services for individuals and groups by a team that includes family doctors, dieticians, social workers, a chiropodist and a health promoter. To date, the province has provided a total of $4.6 million toward the centre.
Canada's Economic Action Plan 2013 is delivering a New Building Canada Plan to build roads, bridges, subways, commuter rail, and other public infrastructure in cooperation with provinces, territories, and municipalities. Thanks to the Government of Canada's leadership and our strong economic and financial fundamentals, the Canadian economy has recovered from the global recession better than most other industrialized countries. Canada has been a leader among G-7 countries throughout the recovery with more than 950,000 net new jobs created since July 2009. The New Building Canada Plan, combined with other federal infrastructure investments, will support Canada's infrastructure advantage, a key enabler of economic growth and job creation.
This investment also supports Building Together, the Government of Ontario's long-term infrastructure plan to repair, rebuild and renew the province's roads and highways, bridges, public transit, schools and postsecondary institutions, hospitals and courthouses. Since 2003, Ontario has invested approximately $75 billion in infrastructure. Building modern, efficient infrastructure has created or preserved close to 100,000 jobs each year, on average, making Ontario's economy more productive and improving quality of life, now and in the future.
For additional information about federal investments in infrastructure and to stay up-to-date with Web feeds, visit Infrastructure Canada.
For more information on how Ontario is revitalizing its infrastructure, visit Ministry of Infrastructure.
Geneviève Sicard
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
613-991-0700
Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure
416-325-0781
Julie Callaghan
Senior Director
Unison Health and Community Services
647-436-0385 extension 502
Michelle Yao
United Way Toronto
416-777-1444
Infrastructure Canada
613-960-9251
Toll free: 1-877-250-7154
