Delivering hundreds of new sustainable and affordable housing units across British Columbia

VANCOUVER, BC, July 29, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Everyone in Canada deserves a safe and affordable place to call home in a healthy and sustainable community. That is why the Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) are investing in communities across Canada to provide low-emission, energy efficient and affordable housing for residents.

Today, Taleeb Noormohamed, Member of Parliament for Vancouver Granville, on behalf of  the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, and Taneen Rudyk, President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), announced a $7.74 million investment through the Green Municipal Fund's (GMF) Sustainable Affordable Housing (SAH) initiative to support the planning and construction of 497 housing units in communities across British Columbia. They were joined by the Mayor of Vancouver, Kennedy Stewart.

The City of Vancouver is receiving $7,081,100 for the Coal Harbour mixed-use passive affordable housing development. The project at 480 Broughton Street is designed to meet both Net Zero Energy and Passive House standards. The fully electrical building will also reduce embodied carbon through construction by 40 percent and emit 94 percent fewer GHGs than a standard building. In addition, the application of the LEED gold standard will improve indoor air quality, reduce water consumption, and maximize the building's overall energy performance. The 60 units, of which 30 percent will be affordable, will adjoin an elementary school and childcare centre. Construction is underway and is expected to be completed by June 2024. The Government of Canada also provided supportive funding through the Seed program, which is designed to support costs for completing pre-development activities related to the construction of new affordable housing across Canada.

Funding was also announced for these plans and studies:

• Soroptimist International of Vancouver - $175,000 for studying a 145-unit new build of energy-efficient affordable housing for women in Vancouver.
• John Howard Society of Victoria - $148,950 for 28-unit net-zero-energy-ready new build study.
• Sooke Region Communities Health Network - $175,000 for a collaboration to bring affordability and community together in a 79-unit new build in a small town.
• Greater Victoria Housing Society - $125,000 for evaluating the deep retrofit of the 75-unit Sitkum Lodge in Victoria.
• Capital Region Housing Corporation - $25,000 for targeting net-zero-energy-ready in a 104-unit affordable housing redevelopment in Saanich.
• Gabriola Housing Society - $14,480 for Paisley Place townhouses plan for 24 net-zero-energy-ready units in Gabriola Island.

The Government of Canada endowed the $300-million Sustainable Affordable Housing initiative as part of a $950-million expansion of FCM's Green Municipal Fund (GMF) in Budget 2019. The SAH initiative helps housing providers retrofit existing units for higher energy performance or build new affordable housing to net-zero standards, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and supporting municipalities in achieving their broader climate change plan objectives. In its two years of funding, the SAH initiative approved funding for 108 projects, representing more than 24,000 units.

The Government of Canada is also developing a Green Buildings Strategy, which will create high quality, sustainable jobs and help Canada move toward a resilient net-zero emissions buildings sector by 2050. The Strategy will be focused on increasing the rate of building retrofits, ensuring new buildings are energy efficient and net-zero ready from the start, and supporting systems change for the buildings sector of the future. Further engagement on the Strategy with partners such as provinces and territories, Indigenous governments and municipalities will take place before it is finalized in 2023.

Through efforts such as these, the federal government is creating sustainable jobs, building a clean energy future and charting a path toward net-zero emissions by 2050.

"With buildings contributing 18 percent of Canada's GHG emissions, investing in energy-efficient, net-zero housing will help us achieve our climate targets while also providing more Canadians with a safe, affordable and sustainable place to call home. Through funding for projects like those announced today, the federal government is focused on empowering municipalities such as the City of Vancouver, and others across British Columbia, to build new net-zero homes and to identify and capitalize on other opportunities to lower emissions and build more sustainable and resilient communities."
The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources

"Today's sustainable housing announcement will provide affordable, green homes to families in communities for many years to come. Our government is working with municipalities like the City of Vancouver to deliver this sustainable housing for Canadians. The result will be cleaner air and a stronger economy as we set the path to a net-zero future in British Columbia and across Canada."
The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

"Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Supporting the creation of sustainable and affordable housing is key to creating a cleaner, greener future for generations of Canadians. We need to tackle the housing and climate crisis together, and this is one of the ways our government continues to ensure no one is left behind."
The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion

"Through the Sustainable Affordable Housing initiative, we are addressing our housing affordability needs, meeting our climate targets and building safer, more sustainable communities. This investment will make a real difference right here in Vancouver Granville."
Taleeb Noormohamed, Member of Parliament for Vancouver Granville

"Local governments are on the front lines of climate change and climate action, and communities of all sizes are showing climate leadership at a time when we need it most. This is exactly what the City of Vancouver is doing in building sustainable and affordable housing and what other British Columbia communities are doing in planning retrofits and new builds. The Green Municipal Fund empowers them to get results on the ground. We deliver results with our federal partners ? helping municipalities tackle affordable housing challenges, create jobs and build greener, more sustainable communities. Together, we are on the path to net-zero."
Taneen Rudyk, President, Federation of Canadian Municipalities

"Tackling climate change in an equitable way is a top priority for the City of Vancouver, but it's only through partnerships with the Government of Canada can we make strong, sustained reductions in carbon emissions while also making life more affordable for people. Thanks to the Green Municipal Fund, cities like ours can work with the federal government to not only deliver affordable housing, but to do it in a way that reduces climate-related impacts for generations to come."
Kennedy Stewart, Mayor of the City of Vancouver

• Backgrounder: City of Vancouver's Coal Harbour Mixed-Use Passive House Affordable Housing Development
• Backgrounder: Studying energy efficient affordable housing for women in Vancouver
• Backgrounder: John Howard Society of Victoria 28-unit NZER new build study
• Backgrounder: A collaboration to bring affordability and community together in a 79-unit new build in a small town
• Backgrounder: Evaluating the deep retrofit of Sitkum Lodge in Victoria
• Backgrounder: Targeting net zero energy ready in a 104-unit affordable housing redevelopment in Saanich
• Backgrounder: Paisley Place townhouses plan for 24 units in Gabriola Island

• Federation of Canadian Municipalities
• Green Municipal Fund
• Sustainable Affordable Housing initiative
• 2030 Emissions Reductions Plan

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SOURCE Natural Resources Canada