Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan support Habitat for Humanity construction in Saskatoon

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

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

SASKATOON, April 26, 2019 /CNW/ - The governments of Canada and Saskatchewan are collaborating with Habitat for Humanity in Saskatoon to help support Saskatchewan families in need of safe and affordable places to call home.

Today, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), along with the Honourable Paul Merriman, Minister of Social Services and Minister responsible for Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC), and Barb Cox-Lloyd, Chief Executive Officer Habitat for Humanity (Habitat) Saskatoon, announced the construction of a duplex for two Saskatchewan families in need of safe and affordable housing.

Located at 311 and 313 Avenue W South, the project will consist of a semi-detached building. Each unit will have four bedrooms totalling approximately 1,500 square feet or 139 square metres and will be a split level design.

Quotes:

"Over the years our Government has teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to create safe and affordable housing for Saskatchewan families, and this one is no different. There is a great deal of work and cooperation that takes place for each one of these builds, including this new duplex in Saskatoon. This investment will create two new homes for two deserving families – homes they can proudly call their own. This is something our Government is, and will always be proud to work for."
— Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

"Our Government is pleased to help provide another hard-working Saskatchewan family with the opportunity for homeownership. Supporting Habitat projects is one way we can do our part to help make this happen. We are happy to see work begin on this project, and to collaborate with the Government of Canada, Habitat and its other partners to create affordable housing for everyone."  
— Honourable Paul Merriman, Minister of Social Services and Minister responsible for Saskatchewan Housing Corporation

"Habitat Saskatoon brings communities together to help families build strength, stability and independence through affordable homeownership. Our partnership with the Saskatchewan Government and the Government of Canada is vital to achieving this purpose. Two Saskatoon families will have their dream of a home of their own through the assistance of these two partners and our community."
— Barb Cox-Lloyd, Chief Executive Officer, Habitat for Humanity Saskatoon

Quick facts:

• Habitat Saskatoon is promoting this project as a youth build and has reached out to local high schools to encourage students age 16 and over to participate. Over the course of the build, it is anticipated that approximately 350 students may be on site at various stages.
• Each partner family selected by Habitat contributes 500 partnering hours in building their home or other Habitat homes. The family purchases their home at fair market value, paying an interest-free, zero down-payment mortgage set at 25 per cent of their annual gross income. Upon completion, the affordable no-interest mortgage is provided by Habitat to partner families with mortgage payments going back for future builds. To learn more about Habitat for Humanity and their work across Saskatchewan, visit www.habitat.ca.
• The Government of Canada, through Canada and Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC), along with the Government of Saskatchewan, through Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC), are jointly contributing $130,000 to build the duplex through the 2014-2019 Investment in Affordable Housing (IAH) Agreement.
• An additional $123,000 was invested by the government of Saskatchewan through the provincial Summit Action Fund (SAF) to support Habitat Saskatoon's land purchase.
• The Province's overall commitment to Habitat totals $10.85 million since March 2009. This investment supports Saskatchewan's Housing Strategy goals of ensuring Saskatchewan people have access to affordable, safe, secure and stable housing.

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. For more information, please visit cmhc.ca or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

To find out more about the National Housing Strategy, visit www.placetocallhome.ca.

In October 2012, the Government of Saskatchewan released the Saskatchewan Plan for Growth: Vision 2020 and Beyond, which sets out the Government's vision for a province of 1.2 million people by 2020. The Plan identifies principles, goals and actions to ensure Saskatchewan is capturing the opportunities and meeting the challenges of a growing province. Since 2007, the Government of Saskatchewan has invested more than $780 million to develop or repair more than 16,000 housing units across our province. To learn more, visit www.saskatchewan.ca.

SOURCE Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Valérie Glazer, Office of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, 819-654-5546, [email protected]; Leonard Catling, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 604-787-1787, [email protected]; Leya Moore, Saskatchewan Ministry of Social Services, 306-787-3610, [email protected]

Related Links

www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca