Latest news with #housingstrategy
CBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Plan to build 3,000 homes in Nunavut still a success even if it falls short, housing corp. presidents says
Nunavut's premier and housing corporation president are defending the government's record on public housing following the release of a new Auditor General's report, which said Nunavummiut aren't being provided fair access. The report also stated there has been a lack of communication and misinformation about the targets outlined in the Nunavut 3,000 strategy — which aims to build 3,000 new homes by 2030. "We've been open and transparent in terms of showcasing what levels — they're all in different stages in terms of the construction phases," Premier P.J. Akeeagok said in the Nunavut Legislative Assembly this week. Nunavut Housing Corporation president and CEO Eiryn Devereaux said even if that target of 3,000 homes missed, the strategy will still be a success. "If we had kept doing everything the same, building a hundred units a year over nine years, we would have seen 1,000 units come into the territory," Devereaux said. "So we're talking about doubling and trying to triple the supply of much-needed housing." Devereaux said the 3,000 figure relates to units under construction since 2021, not since the launch of the strategy in 2022. "The 3,000 was always a target and it was always a target to drive change, drive the system, to say we have to do better, we have to do things differently because the status quo is just not working," he said. Devereaux said there are currently 440 units at "various stages of construction." "What's more important than people counting the numbers? It's the transformative change," he said. The Nunavut Housing Corporation accepted all of the report's 10 recommendations. More than 60 per cent of Nunavummiut rely on public housing, 45 per cent of which is overcrowded, according to Nunavut Housing Corporation data included in the auditor's report. The audit also found the housing corporation did not know whether publicly funded units were being allocated to applicants who needed them the most. Devereaux said they have a new maintenance management software system for local housing authorities, which should start rolling out later this year. "That'll help to centralize and to get data across all (local housing authorities) instead of them sort of doing it on their own in-house," he said. He said the housing corporation also plans to launch a new tenant relations and portfolio management system to take that burden off housing authorities too.
RNZ News
22-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Planning for Auckland's rapidly growing 'vibrant' south
The Franklin area is one of the New Zealand's primary food production regions. Photo: Chris McKeen/Stuff A strategy to help support one of Auckland's fastest-growing regions with housing and its thriving farming industry has been approved by Auckland Council. The southern rural areas, which includes the Franklin Ward, are expected to see an increase of 89,900 people, 37,500 households, and 16,500 jobs by 2052. Auckland Council recently approved the new Southern Rural Strategy , which supports the region to accommodate its growing population, while enabling industries like farming and food production to thrive. "The southern rural area is expected to account for approximately 15 percent of Auckland's overall population growth over the next 30 years," Franklin Ward Councillor Andy Baker said. The area was one of New Zealand's primary food production regions, with abundant natural resources and some of the most productive land in New Zealand. "Its strategic location - close to airports, seaport and key export markets - helps to further cultivate these industries." In a statement, Baker said the strategy provides direction for where housing choices, industries and employment opportunities will grow, "in a way that supports the area to thrive economically and ecologically". It includes strengthening the role of Pukekohe and Waiuku as rural service towns, focuses growth in existing urbanised settlements and avoid growth outside settlements, and minimises urban growth where it could have negative impacts on rural production and industries. The strategy also makes sure there is sufficient infrastructure to support new development, support safe access for residential and rural production users with transport and access needs, and celebrates the Māori and Pākehā heritage of towns, villages and other areas. The strategy covers the full Franklin ward. It also includes some rural land from the Howick, Manurewa, and Papakura local board areas. The strategy does not cover the area's quickest growing towns - Drury, Ōpaheke and Pukekohe - which already have community-backed plans to guide their growth. Consultation on the Southern Rural Strategy took place in October to December last year. Deputy chair of Auckland's Policy and Planning Committee, Angela Dalton, said the strategy supports the southern rural area to grow well. "This is a vibrant region, where traditional industries thrive alongside emerging sectors," Dalton said. "The strategy is about balanced growth that minimises the impact on the environment, while improving housing choices and socially connected communities." By making the most of existing infrastructure, and focusing on projects that deliver multiple benefits, the council was helping set up the region for a resilient and sustainable future, she said. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
CBC
20-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Province will help 2,500 more N.B. households pay their rent
The New Brunswick government will spend $21.1 million to support 2,500 additional households struggling to pay rent, Premier Susan Holt announced Tuesday in Saint John. "We're doing this to help people who are struggling to find an affordable place to call home," Holt said. "We have a long waiting list of people looking for subsidized housing. We want renters … to choose where they live, and this direct-to-tenant benefit allows them to do that." The direct-to-tenant program has helped 6,100 households to date, she said, but there is a waiting list of nearly 12,000. Under the province's housing strategy, the goal is to get the waiting list down to 7,500 by next year. The program is geared toward lower-income households in urban and rural New Brunswick that are paying more than 30 per cent of their income for adequate housing. WATCH | N.B. is expanding a rental subsidy program. Here's why: David Hickey, minister responsible for the New Brunswick Housing Corporation, said the province made the announcement on the lower west side of Saint John because of the high rate of low-income renters there. People should be able to stay where they have roots, he said, and not be forced to move to find cheaper rents. "There's a deep sense of identity and a deep sense of community [on the west side], and we know it's neighbourhoods like this that are going to be supported by funding like this. "The vision is … to make sure that people can continue to afford and continue to live in the places they have [been living] and make sure that we are stopping the massive inflow into homelessness or more insecure housing situations." The $21.1 million increase in funding for the program is one of a number of ways the government is trying to make life more affordable for tenants. They also include the recently implemented three per cent rent cap and and efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing. "We continue the job of making sure that we are accelerating the rate of public housing faster than we ever have," Hickey said. "[We are] making sure that we are investing in partners like … the New Brunswick Non-Profit Housing Association, to make sure that we're leaning on our non-profit partners to build faster than they ever have in communities just like this one." Randy Hatfield, the executive director of the Human Development Council, said it's important to help residents in neighbourhoods that have a high percentage of renters, many in low-income households. According to the most recent census data, Hatfield said, 33 per cent of Canadian households are renters. In New Brunswick, the rate is 26 per cent because of its rural nature, but in Saint John, the rate is much higher, at 45 per cent, and it rises to 71 per cent in the city's Ward 3, which includes the lower west side. Nearly 30 per cent of those renters spend more than 30 per cent of their income on housing. The overall poverty rate is 35.8 per cent, with the child poverty rate at 45.6 per cent. "Many are struggling, doing the best they can to meet this affordability crisis," Hatfield said. "We have low vacancy rates, low median family incomes, a big gap between the minimum wage and a living wage and, until recently, no rental caps, and long waiting lists for affordable housing." The Human Development Council recently conducted a survey of people in the province who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. "[We asked] what caused you to lose your housing most recently, and 29 per cent of respondents said it was not enough income for housing, Hatfield said. "Another question asked them to identify challenges to finding housing and 74 percent said rents are too high.
CBC
15-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
African Nova Scotian housing strategy launched, but more funding still needed
An ambitious new community-led housing strategy that aims to increase access to affordable housing for African Nova Scotians has been officially launched, but its long-term success will depend on financial support from all levels of government. The new plan, which was unveiled by the Nova Scotia Black Community Housing Council at the Black Cultural Centre in Cherry Brook, N.S., on Thursday, is the result of multiple years of research and ongoing consultation with the African Nova Scotian community. "This is a one-of-a-kind strategy that we've done," said Sunday Miller, leader of the council. "It's been put together by the Black community for the Black community." The housing strategy, which can be read in full online, was funded by the provincial government and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, but developed by the council in collaboration with SHS Consulting and the Black Planning Project. It identifies four key initiatives to help African Nova Scotians tackle the housing crisis, including: The establishment of a community bank to gather capital resources for new housing developments. The creation of a community land trust to acquire and steward land. The development of a housing hub to act as a central resource for those looking for housing support. The creation of a new toolkit to navigate the housing development process. The plan also recommends taking action to increase non-market housing supply, maintain aging housing stock and develop diverse housing options to allow people to return to or stay in historic African Nova Scotian communities. It drew upon the input and experiences of 197 African Nova Scotian community members, through 18 workshops held in Black communities across Nova Scotia, and a statistical data analysis. Among other things, this research found that African Nova Scotian households are more likely to rent compared to other households in the province, and that the share of African Nova Scotian households that rent instead of own has been growing. "It's time for people of African Nova Scotia descent to have acceptable adequate housing," said Miller. More funding needed to implement strategy The province's Department of African Nova Scotian Affairs has given the housing council $270,000 to hire an executive who can help establish a governance model and begin to engage possible funders, but Miller said significantly more financial support is needed to implement the strategy. "I truly believe there should be funding coming from federal, provincial and municipal to make this happen," she said. Speaking after a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Colton LeBlanc, the province's minister of growth and development, said he'd been briefed on the strategy, but said no financial commitments have been made in response to the plan. "We are proud supporters and proud funders of that study," said LeBlanc. "We remain at the table with the African Nova Scotian community … and we will continue to work in lockstep with them to address their housing needs." You can read more stories here.
Irish Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Family-focused homelessness strategy needed, says Children's Ombudsman
The Government must develop a specific child- and family-focused homelessness strategy, which should prioritise prevention measures as well as timely access to secure, long-term housing , the Ombudsman for Children has told the Minister for Housing. In a letter to James Browne last month, Dr Niall Muldoon also said he was deeply concerned about the 'proposed introduction of eligibility criteria' for those accessing emergency accommodation. The Office of the Ombudsman told The Irish Times it was reiterating a point it had previously raised with the Department of Housing in 2023 when it was reviewing legislation which included the eligibility criteria for emergency accommodation. It is understood that proposed amendments to the Housing Act 1988 to include requiring lawful and habitual residency as conditions for access to emergency accommodation were previously under consideration. While such changes were not included in the general scheme of the Bill last year, the final legislation has yet to be published. READ MORE 'The proposed eligibility criteria risks excluding vulnerable groups, including undocumented families with children, Roma families with children and families seeking international protection, from emergency accommodation,' Dr Muldoon said in the letter dated April 30th. The ombudsman also urged the Minister to reconsider the approach being taken to the eviction of refugee and asylum-seeking children from direct provision and accommodation for Ukrainian refugees. [ Housing Minister James Browne: 'If we don't get this right over the next four to seven months, we're going to be in serious, serious trouble' Opens in new window ] 'I would ask that you fully assess the impact of such decisions by using a children's rights framework to better prioritise the rights of these children,' he said. 'Ultimately, the aim should be to ensure that they are not uprooted from their local communities and forced to endure further distress.' Separately, the ombudsman and a number of housing charities and organisations wrote to the new Oireachtas housing committee urging it to prioritise a 'comprehensive review' of child and family homelessness as a 'matter of urgency'. They wrote to the committee's chair, Fine Gael TD Micheál Carrigy, over recent days stating that a report from the committee in 2019 on family and child homelessness made comprehensive recommendations, 'but the majority are not implemented, despite the severity of the situation'. The letter was signed by Dr Muldoon, Focus Ireland, Simon Communities of Ireland, St Vincent de Paul, Threshold, Clúid Housing, Respond (an approved housing body) and Crosscare (social care services provider). The letter states that the continued rise in family homelessness underscores the 'urgent need' to revisit 'outstanding measures' from the 2019 report and conduct 'a fresh analysis of systemic failures'. [ Number of people in homelessness reaches new record high of 15,418 Opens in new window ] 'We are asking the joint committee on housing to prioritise child homelessness and to provide robust oversight in relation to Ireland's commitment under the Lisbon Declaration to end child homelessness by 2030,' it said. 'We are deeply alarmed by Ireland's worsening homelessness crisis, highlighted by a record-breaking 4,675 children in emergency accommodation in the latest figures released in March 2025 — this is a 11 per cent increase since March 2024.' The Oireachtas committee's report from November 2019 made 14 recommendations. These included practical supports, such as case managers and child support workers, being made available across all types of emergency accommodation and to each family and child experiencing homelessness within one week of entering such accommodation. A spokeswoman for the Minister said Mr Browne was arranging a meeting with the Ombudsman in the coming weeks to discuss issues raised.
