With the current tough economic times hitting Niagara particularly hard, social and co-operative housing programs are more important than ever.
Luckily, community housing projects across Niagara have landed some much needed government funding Thursday as Diane Finley, Minister responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and Jim Bradley, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, announced a more than $10-million combined investment in community housing in the region.
The announcement was made at St. Catharines-based Commonwealth Cooperative Homes (CCH), which will receive $815,000 of the funding to renovate and retrofit its 65 dwellings and properties.
“It’s so much appreciated,” said CCH president Deborah Knight. She explained that the 18-year-old dwellings are in need of new furnaces, windows and toilets, as well as other repairs. With the focus of the funding aimed at not only improving community housing but also energy conservation, all of the renovations will keep energy efficiency in mind.
“We’re doing this so these (dwellings) will continue to be safe and stable for years to come,” said Finley.
The funding comes as part of a 2009 investment of $1.2 billion in Ontario through Canada’s Economic Action Plan and the Open Ontario Plan with the federal and provincial governments each contributing $622 million. Retrofitting and renovating existing social housing will eat up $704 million of the investment with the remaining $540 million going toward creating 45,000 new social housing units across Ontario.
“Social housing plays a crucial role in providing Ontario’s citizens the quality of life they deserve,” said Bradley, explaining the importance of such funding. He explained that the specific investments were awarded based on their individual needs and impacts.
In St. Catharines, $4.28 million of the funding will be used for 37 individual projects, including the CCH renovations.
“Affordable housing is a very high priority in our area,” said Carlos Garcia, regional councilor for St. Catharines.
Many of the projects are being overseen by Niagara Peninsula Homes (NPH), a non-profit organization is currently leading 11 social housing retrofit projects across the region. Since the retrofits and new units will be constructed with energy conservation in mind, they will further benefit those in need of assistance by lowering utility costs.
NPH also works closely with Team ENERGI on a variety of its projects, including the CCH renovations. Team ENERGI, a Service Canada funded program, teaches young people with barriers to employment trade skills related to water and energy conservation. With the funding providing further opportunities for Team ENERGI, program manager David Young and his current crop of 12 students were on hand to hear the announcement and show off their skills as they demonstrated how they will be installing energy-efficient windows in the CCH homes.
“These are motivated and hard-working young people, they are the future of Niagara,” said Young.