Governments of Canada and Quebec Invest in Affordable Housing in New Richmond

NEW RICHMOND, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - July 18, 2012) - The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Member of Parliament for Lévis-Bellechasse, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), and Damien Arsenault, Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for Bonaventure, on behalf of Laurent Lessard, Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy and Minister responsible for the Société d'habitation du Québec (SHQ), are pleased to mark the official opening of the building Le Transit. The conversion of the building that now provides six supervised housing units to people with mental health problems required a total investment of almost $1.1 million, of which close to $518,000 was provided by the governments of Canada and Quebec.

In addition to Government of Canada, through Canada's Economic Action Plan and the Government of Quebec, under the AccèsLogis Québec program of the SHQ, community partners contributed more than $309,000 to the project, including nearly $76,000 from the Town of New Richmond and close to $102,000 from the Centre de santé et de services sociaux de la Baie-des-Chaleurs. It should further be noted that the SHQ has secured the mortgage loan taken out by the organization to complete the financing of the project.

"Through Canada's Economic Action Plan, our government is taking action to help ensure our economic recovery and create the conditions for long-term growth. Funding housing projects like the residence Le Transit will not only improve the overall housing conditions for persons with disabilities in New Richmond but also help stimulate the local economy and create jobs," said Minister Blaney.

"Le Transit plays a key role in the region by providing quality supervised housing to people who live with mental health problems, allowing them to continue moving toward self-sufficiency. I am proud of our government's participation in this mobilizing project, and I want to congratulate everyone who contributed to its development," said MNA Damien Arsenault, in the presence of Nicole Appleby, Mayor of New Richmond, Lucie Gingras, President of the corporation Inter-Action : pour l'autonomie en santé mentale de la Baie-des-Chaleurs, and local partners.

It should be specified that all the tenants of the project can benefit from the Rent Supplement program, which provides financial assistance to low-income individuals who would otherwise have to spend more than 25 per cent of their income on housing. The rent supplements provided will represent, over a five-year period, nearly $101,000 in additional financial assistance, assumed by the SHQ (90 per cent) and the Municipality of New Richmond (10 per cent).

It should be noted that this project, like all projects developed under the AccèsLogis Québec program, was designed so as to obtain the Novoclimat certification. To help it meet this requirement, which well demonstrates the importance attached to improving energy efficiency by the Government of Quebec, the project received a grant of more than $10,000 from the Bureau de l'efficacité et de l'innovation énergétiques of the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune.

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 social housing. In Quebec, this represents some 129,550 households. These investments are improving the quality of life for low-income Canadians and households living in social housing, including individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, seniors, persons with disabilities, recent immigrants and Aboriginal people.

To find out more about how CMHC is working to build stronger homes and communities for all Canadians, call CMHC at 1-800-668-2642 or visit www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca.

In the 2012/2013 budget, the Government of Quebec announced that it intends to build an additional 3,000 housing units, bringing to 35,000 units its objective of producing new affordable housing in Quebec. This represents an additional contribution of $180 million under the AccèsLogis Québec program and the private component of the Affordable Housing Québec program, and brings to nearly $1.5 billion the total assistance provided since 2003.

Since 2003, 411 community and affordable housing units have been, or are being, developed in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine region, representing total investments of over $48.6 million by the governments and their partners.

The SHQ's mission is to facilitate citizens' access to appropriate housing conditions. Each year, through its various programs, the SHQ supports more than 240,000 households across Quebec. For more information on this agency's programs and services, visit www.habitation.gouv.qc.ca/english.html.