Northwest & Haida Gwaii communities among those to share in provincial funding to map housing needs

Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Selina Robinson delivered
some welcome news towards housing today for a number of NW communities
(From BC Leg files)

A new funding program from the Province of British Columbia has delivered its first round of financial grant assistance to communities across the province, designed to assist in the development of Housing Needs Reports to explore housing issues in BC.

Selina Robinson, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing outlined the scope of the project and what the province hopes will be achieved from the process.

“I am excited to see so many strong applications from municipalities and regional districts that are eager to identify and meet their housing needs, so people can live, work and continue to build prosperous lives in their communities. Collectively, we need to work together to build the right kinds of homes for people across the province. These reports will give us the kind of community-specific information we need to make sure we meet people’s housing needs.”

The first round of the  program is providing the funding for 50 municipalities and 10 Regional Districts through the UBCM.

Overall, five million dollars in funding is to be made available over the next three years, with UBCM administering the program.

Thirty applications were approved today, with a number of Northwest Communities finding themselves on the list for financial distribution from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Among the Northwest communities to share in the 1.5 million of this first round were:

Kitimat-Stikine Regional District $45,000 (For use in Hazelton, New Hazelton and Electoral Area B)

Smithers $19,885

Telkwa $15,000


Two Haida Gwaii communities also received funding today

Port Clements $15,000

Masset $14,955


The Central Coast Regional District also received $75,000 for work in all five electoral areas.

Welcoming the news out of Victoria today was Smithers Mayor Taylor Bachrach, who outlined how Smithers plans to make use of the funding.

“We have long known there are gaps in our housing supply and a low rental vacancy rate. A housing needs study will give us a community-wide view of our housing situation and help us choose approaches that will best meet current and future demands. We greatly appreciate the funding announced today and our ongoing partnership with the Province to ensure appropriate, affordable housing for all.”

The Municipal Affairs and Housing Ministry outlined what the focus of the program will be as follows:

The reports will assess key housing needs, including the need for affordable housing, rental housing and homes for seniors, people with special needs, families and people at risk of homelessness. They will also help inform decisions to develop workforce housing to help employers retain employees and support local economic growth.

The Province has made most of the data required by local governments, such as demographics and household income levels, available online at no cost.

 Once complete, each report will be presented to a local government council or board. The reports will also be publicly available online to anyone seeking to better understand local housing needs.

The first intake closed on May 31st, the next intake for funding requests from other communities across the Northwest is up until November 29th, 2019.

The full details of today's announcement can be found here, while a more detailed look at the Province's housing initiative can be reviewed here.

More items of interest on housing can be explored here.

For more items of note out of the provincial capital see our archive page here.

Other notes on provincial issues can be found from our Political blog D'Arcy McGee


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