CANADA SUPPORTS TRANSITIONAL HOUSING FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN KINGSTON

KINGSTON, ON, June 22, 2022 /CNW/ - Everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home.

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, marked the grand opening of a transitional housing building in support of Indigenous individuals and families living in Kingston.

Government of Canada Logo (CNW Group/Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation)

Located at 113 Lower Union Street, the new building is comprised of 19 units for Indigenous peoples, with nine units prioritized for single women and women and their children.

The building is owned an operated by Tipi Moza, an urban First Nation, Métis and Inuit housing provider founded in 1989 in response to the need for subsidized housing for First Nation, Métis, and Inuit families. 

Funding for this project was provided, in part, through the Government of Canada's Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI).

New investments under the RHI will create thousands of good jobs in the housing and construction sector, grow the middle class, and build back stronger communities while getting us closer to our goal of eliminating chronic homelessness in Canada.

Quotes:

"Everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. This investment through the Rapid Housing Initiative is a crucial step to support Indigenous community members in Kingston in need of transitional housing. These new homes will offer residents stability and safety and is another way our National Housing Strategy is ensuring no one is left behind." – The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion

Quick facts:

• The Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) is a $2.5 billion program under the National Housing Strategy (NHS) to help address the urgent housing needs of vulnerable Canadians, especially in the context of COVID-19, through the rapid construction of over 10,000 units of affordable housing.
• The RHI takes a human rights-based approach to housing, serving people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and other vulnerable people, including women and children fleeing domestic violence, seniors, young adults, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, people experiencing mental health and addiction issues, veterans, LGBTQ2S+ individuals, racialized and Black Canadians, recent immigrants, and refugees.
• Units are intended to be constructed within 12 months of funding being provided to program applicants (with some exceptions). Units in the North and remote communities are intended to be constructed within 18 months.
• Budget 2022 proposes to provide $1.5 billion over the next two years to extend the RHI and create 6,000 additional affordable housing units across Canada, with at least 25% of funding going towards women-focused housing projects.
• The Government of Canada's National Housing Strategy (NHS) is an ambitious, 10-year plan that will invest over $72 billion to give more Canadians a place to call home.

Associated links:

• As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers unbiased housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry. CMHC's aim is that by 2030, everyone in Canada has a home they can afford, and that meets their needs. For more information, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.
• Check out the National Housing Strategy Housing Funding Initiatives Map to see the affordable housing projects that have been developed across Canada.

SOURCE Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Media contacts: Arevig Afarian, Office of the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, [email protected]; Media Relations, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, [email protected]