Canada’s Economic Action Plan is providing funding for a local senior housing initiative with approval from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC). Located in Swift Current, Prairie Pioneers Independent Housing Inc. will develop the 24-unit housing project, intended for low-income seniors.
David Anderson, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board and Member of Parliament for Cypress Hills-Grasslands, announced support for the Economic Action Plan, which will provide $2.4 million of funding for the initiative; the federal government says its purpose for the plan is to stimulate the economy and create jobs during the global recession. The Canada-Saskatchewan Affordable Housing Program Agreement, signed in May 2009, will be funded equally by federal and provincial governments, with each contributing $1.2 million.
“This project will provide a safe place for seniors to live, with access to supports and recreation opportunities in Swift Current and the surrounding area,” says June Draude, Minister responsible for SHC. “Just as growth is a means to an end for our province, so too is a stable place to call home for every one of our citizens. This project is another expression of the Saskatchewan Advantage, which is our government’s ongoing effort to make growth work for the people of this province.”
Throughout a two-year span, the Economic Action Plan is set to distribute $400 million to build affordable rental housing for low-income seniors; the Prairie Pioneers initiative in Swift Current will consist of six one-bedroom four-plex units. The funding stems from the Canadian government’s 2008 commitment to provide nearly $2 billion of funding for the improvement and construction of new affordable housing units, which brought $74 million to the province of Saskatchewan. Local government is matching this sum for a total $148 million that the SHC will deliver locally to help those in need of affordable housing.
More information on Canada’s Economic Action Plan can be found here.
Written by Alyssa Gerace
