Nearly $1B investment into B.C. affordable housing

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Officially signing the Canada-B.C. bilateral agreement means $990 million over 10 years to build new and fix existing affordable housing in this province.

“British Colubians have been feeling the effects of out-of-control housing costs and extremely low vacancy rates for many years,” said BC Housing Minster Selena Robinson. as she signed onto the housing investment plan.

“The nearly $1 billion we are announcing together today comes in addition to more than $700 million in already planned federal investments in housing in B.C. over the next 10 years,” says Jean Yves Duclos, minister for Families, Children and Social Development.

“Thirty-four thousand families will not have to find themselves on the streets because the federal government is protecting community housing in BC. Otherwise, these 34,000 families would not have an affordable and safe home to live in.”

Vancouver’s outgoing mayor Gregor Robertson says he’s pleased the city will get some help.

“When it comes to social housing and getting serious affordability, we have to have provincial and federal government investment. That’s the only way we get it. The city, we can build the housing. But we can only make it affordable if we have subsidies from those governments. Good to see them picking up the pace.”

He says the city has offered up several sites where social or affordable housing projects could be built.

The province will ultimately determine how the money is spent, coming up with three-year action plans, beginning next year.

The money officially starts flowing next April.

– With files from Marcella Bernardo

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