Caledon celebrates the opening of affordable housing

CALEDON, ON, Sept. 25 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada , the Government of Ontario and the Region of Peel today celebrated the opening of 25 affordable rental units for seniors - an extension to an existing 15-unit seniors building in Caledon East. The project received $1.25 million from the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program.

David Tilson , Member of Parliament for Dufferin-Caledon, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley , Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC); Linda Jeffrey , Member of Provincial Parliament for Brampton Springdale, on behalf of the Honourable Jim Watson , Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; Region of Peel Chair, Emil Kolb , and Mayor of Caledon, Marolyn Morrison made the announcement today.

"This is great news for seniors in Caledon," said MP Tilson. "These new apartments will help provide more options for those seniors in need of suitable, affordable housing and they will also contribute to the economic and social well-being of the community."

"Access to affordable, quality housing is vitally important to Peel seniors," said MPP Jeffrey. "I am very pleased that the provincial and federal governments have once again joined together to work together on another housing project. This is a true community initiative that will make a positive impact on the lives of seniors."

Today's announcement recognized the official opening of a 25-unit complex at 20 Walker Road East, sponsored by Peel Housing Corporation. The $6.05 million project will be occupied by seniors. The federal and provincial allocations to the project were complemented by $4.8 million in municipal financial incentives.

"With this funding and support from federal and provincial governments, we have provided more affordable housing options for seniors in the Caledon community," said Regional Chair Emil Kolb . "The wait time for seniors housing can be up to a few years - we need to keep working together to make quality, accessible housing readily available."

"I'm pleased with the support we've received in Caledon for more housing," said Mayor Morrison . "We can now accommodate more seniors with affordable homes and support services, which is a growing need in our community, and I thank all levels of government for coming together to make this happen."

The Canada - Ontario Affordable Housing Program comprises a commitment of $301 million from each of the two senior levels of government. In total, the federal, provincial and municipal governments will invest at least $734 million in the program, which will provide affordable housing for up to 20,000 households in Ontario.

Last fall, the Government of Canada committed more than $1.9 billion over the next 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 in new and existing social housing and lending of up to another $2 billion to municipalities for housing-related infrastructure. Combined for Ontario, this means a further $1.2-billion joint investment under the amended Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program Agreement. The federal and provincial governments are contributing equally to this overall investment.

Ontario is moving quickly to implement this additional funding, which increases the number of "quick start" projects to 39 totalling over $76.5 million and which will improve access to affordable housing for low-income families, seniors and persons with disabilities. It will also create jobs and strengthen local economies. To find out more about affordable housing in Ontario, visit www.mah.gov.on.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. For more information on Canada's Economic Action Plan, call 1-800-O Canada or visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

    
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    For more information visit www.mah.gov.on.ca
                               www.cmhc.ca
                               www.peelregion.ca
    

For further information: Media contacts: Michelle Bakos, Press Secretary, Office of Minister Finley, [phone]; Leslie Pawlowski, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, [phone]; Adam Grachnik, Office of Minister Watson, [phone]; Joan Endersby, Senior Public Affairs Associate, Region of Peel, [phone], ext. 4655