Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia Celebrate New Affordable Housing in Chester

CHESTER, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwire - July 4, 2012) - Gerald J. Comeau, Senator, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), along with the Honourable Darrell Dexter, Premier of Nova Scotia, celebrated today the official opening of new affordable housing units for seniors and persons with mobility impairments in Chester.

Funding in the amount of more than $685,000 was made available for the construction of a new 4-unit development for seniors and persons with mobility impairments through Canada's Economic Action Plan, the federal government's plan to stimulate the economy and create jobs during the global recession. The federal and provincial governments are contributing equally to this overall investment of $96 million under the amended Canada - Nova Scotia Affordable Housing Program Agreement.

"The Government of Canada is proud to contribute more than $340,000 in funding for this project," said Senator Comeau. "These new units will provide quality, affordable housing and benefit the economic and social well-being of the entire community."

"Families, seniors and people with disabilities deserve affordable, accessible homes, like the units opening today," said Premier Dexter. "For the residents who are about to move in, these units will allow them to stay in their communities and live independently, longer. Affordable housing isn't a one size fits all solution and the province will continue to work with its partners to ensure affordable housing is available to those who need it most."

The barrier-free units are designed to accommodate seniors and persons with mobility impairments and include energy efficient features like time of day electrical use, external maintenance access, and outdoor storage space. The units are also designed to meet or exceed the silver LEED® Silver standard for energy and water.

More than $145 million has been invested in affordable housing in the province since 2009.

The Government of Canada, through CMHC, will invest more than $2 billion in housing this year. Of this amount, $1.7 billion will be spent in support of almost 605,000 households living in existing social housing. In Nova Scotia, this represents some 20,900 households. These investments are improving the quality of life for low-income Canadians and households living in existing social housing, including individuals who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness, seniors, persons with disabilities, recent immigrants and Aboriginal people.

To date, under the Affordable Housing Program, more than 1,900 affordable housing units have been created or preserved around Nova Scotia. For more information on these projects, visit www.gov.ns.ca/coms/affordablehousing.

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-schl.gc.ca.