Governments of Canada and Ontario Celebrate Affordable Housing in Waterloo Region

KITCHENER, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - June 26, 2017) - The governments of Canada and Ontario announced the funding of affordable housing units across Waterloo Region with a ground-breaking event at 108 Sydney Street South in Kitchener. When completed, the KW Habilitation development will provide 22 units of affordable housing for people living with developmental disabilities.

Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Raj Saini, Member of Parliament for Kitchener Centre, and Daiene Vernile, Member of Provincial Parliament for Kitchener-Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Chris Ballard, Ontario's Minister of Housing and Minister Responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy, made the announcement today. Ken Seiling, Chair for the Region of Waterloo, also participated in the event.

The KW Habilitation development received more than $2.6 million in combined federal and provincial funding through the Investment in Affordable Housing agreement. It integrates KW Habilitation's on-site programs with affordable housing for their clients, allowing residents to live independently while accessing available services.

The announcement also celebrated five other initiatives, which will provide an additional 51 units of affordable housing in Waterloo Region when completed, bringing the total federal and provincial contributions for all six housing developments to more than $8.4 million. 

Quick facts:

The following developments were also celebrated today:

• Fourteen units of affordable housing with MennoHomes at 7 Memorial Avenue in Elmira, which received more than $1.7 million.
  
  
• Six units of affordable housing for people with developmental disabilities with Elmira Developmental Support Corporation at 75 Maguire Lane in Elmira, which received $775,423.
  
  
• Nine units of affordable housing with Supportive Housing of Waterloo (SHOW) at 402 Erb Street West in Waterloo, which received more than $1.1 million.
  
  
• Four units of affordable housing with the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of Kitchener-Waterloo at 155 Lincoln Road in Waterloo, which received over $450,000 in funding.
  
  
• 16 units of affordable housing for persons with disabilities at 430 Connaught Street in Kitchener, which received over $1.8 million in funding.

Quotes:

"This investment will continue to help Canadians access safe and affordable housing that meets their needs, while also creating jobs for the local economy. Our government remains committed to working with our partners to develop and implement solutions to housing both in Ontario and across Canada." - Raj Saini, Member of Parliament for Kitchener Centre

"Investing in these facilities builds on our government's long-term commitment to stable funding that will transform our housing system. Providing more affordable housing will strengthen our community, as people receive the supports they need to thrive." - Daiene Vernile, Member of Provincial Parliament for Kitchener-Centre

"Since 2001, over 2,500 affordable housing units have been created under the Region's Affordable Housing Strategy through partnerships we forged with local municipalities, community housing proponents, both private and non-profit and the provincial and federal governments. These six housing providers are examples of the continued commitment to creating much needed affordable housing across our growing community." - Ken Seiling, Chair, Region of Waterloo

"Affordable Housing is a great need for many in our city and Region. KW Habilitation is very excited to be building accessible units that will create an intentional community of neighbours helping neighbours." - Ann Bilodeau, Executive Director, KW Habilitation

Associated links:

- Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has been helping Canadians meet their housing needs for more than 70 years. 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 Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry. Prudent risk management, strong corporate governance and transparency are cornerstones of CMHC's operations. For more information, please call 1-800-668-2642 or visit www.cmhc.ca.

- Investing in affordable housing programs is part of Ontario's plan to create jobs, grow the economy and help people in their everyday lives. Since 2003, the province has committed more than $5 billion in funding for affordable housing, which has helped support more than 22,000 new affordable rental housing units, more than 335,000 repairs and improvements to social and affordable housing units and rental and down payment assistance to more than 93,000 households in need. These investments complement the commitments made through Ontario's recent Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy update, and support the province's goal of ending chronic homelessness by 2025. For more information on affordable housing in Ontario, visit ontario.ca/affordablehousing.

Stay connected:

- Follow CMHC on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

- Follow Ontario's Ministry of Housing on Twitter.