Ottawa pledges $96M to create affordable housing in southern Ontario

The federal government has promised more than $96 million to build and repair affordable housing units in southern Ontario, with just under $25 million earmarked for projects in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Wellington County.

Jenna Sudds, the minister of families, children and social development, made the announcement Thursday morning at 82 Wilson Avenue in Kitchener. That building project will get $2.4 million to construct 48 homes for low-income residents on the Waterloo Region’s social housing waitlist.

Other cities receiving funding are Guelph, Brantford, Norfolk County, Woodstock, Stratford, Hanover, Orangeville and Owen Sound.

In all, the government aims to create 7,685 affordable housing units.

“We have committed to 500 homes,” said Waterloo Regional Councillor Colleen James. “This helps with this, so this is huge for us. It’s huge for our master plan and the future, and making sure people in this area have a place to call home.”

The hope is that it will help get people into homes faster.

“There will be builders across the country that are going to be able to be pre-approved, which will also allow them to have a line of sight for future development, which is important in terms of making investment in equipment, hiring additional staff and so on,” explained Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic.

Some argue the money is only a fraction of what’s needed to address the growing affordability crisis.

“I’m glad that at least a quarter of the dollars announced today are going to be for affordable units in Waterloo Region, but it’s obviously not nearly enough,” said Mike Morrice, the Green Party MP for Kitchener Centre. “With this funding we’re going to see 314 new units built at a time when we have 8,000 people in Waterloo Region who are on the waitlist for affordable housing.”

The minister also addressed the problem of renovictions.

“Funding is going towards that so that there is additional resources available to renters in exactly the situation that you’ve expressed, whether it’s a renovation or any eviction of any sort,” she said. “It’s important that renters have the ability to get the support that they need because it is difficult to navigate.”

Sudds didn’t explain how the funding would be used to help renters.

“It’s creating a level of uncertainty that, quite frankly, isn’t fair to people who have been living in some of these residences for 20, 30 years and more,” Vrbanovic said.