WHEREAS the lack of appropriate affordable housing, particularly in small rural BC communities makes it difficult for seniors and those with special needs to age in place; AND WHEREAS access to safe, affordable and appropriate housing helps to create vibrant, sustainable communities: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM urge the provincial and federal governments to work with community partners to develop solutions to the lack of seniors housing and to provide the necessary long-term funding to support the construction of a full range of affordable seniors housing choices across British Columbia.
Ministry of Natural Gas Development Minister Responsible for Housing The Province of British Columbia invests in a range of options to help seniors and people with disabilities live as independently as possible. This includes providing affordable housing. Since January 2012, more than 300 people with disabilities have been helped through our Home Adaptions for Independence program HAFI, which provides 20,000 per home to help low-income seniors live more independently. The provincial government provides support to more than 51,000 seniors households across the province through a range of housing options, including: - over 17,000 households receive Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters SAFER benefits. The program was expanded in 2006 and enhanced in 2014 to better meet the needs of low-income seniors. With the new enhanced benefit, the average monthly payment is expected to increase from approximately 150 to 190; - more than 12,000 supportive and assisted living units for frail seniors; and - over 21,000 independent social housing units for low-income seniors. Under the Seniors Rental Housing initiative, we completed more than 1,200 units of affordable rental housing for seniors and people with disabilities in smaller communities.
Minister of State Social Development The federal governments approach to housing recognizes that provinces and territories are best placed to understand local needs. The federal government, through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation CMHC, provides funding to provinces and territories to help meet the continuum of affordable housing needs in their jurisdiction. Since 2006, the Government, through CMHC, has invested almost 19 billion in housing, including 2 billion in British Columbia. Working with key partners, the federal government has helped close to 915,000 Canadian individuals and families, including low-income seniors, persons with disabilities, recent immigrants and First Nations. The Government is honouring its commitments to the existing social housing stock under long-term agreements of 25 to 50 years. At the end of these agreements, the federal government funding will end as planned. At the same time, the mortgages on these properties will generally be paid off and housing providers will find themselves with lower operating expenses as well as real estate assets that can be used to continue to provide affordable housing. I would also like to add that our Government is providing significant funding under the Investment in Affordable Housing IAH. Under the IAH, provinces and territories cost match the federal investment and are responsible for program design and delivery. Provinces and territories have the flexibility to invest in a range of affordable housing programs in order to meet their local needs and priorities. Funding may be used to create new or to renovate affordable rental housing; to improve affordability such as through rent supplements; and, to foster safe independent living through accessibility modifications. For the Province of British Columbia, this represents a combined investment of more than 300 million over five years. Under the IAH, British Columbia has the flexibility to design and deliver a range of affordable housing programs to address local housing needs and priorities. The Province of British Columbia will commit the joint annual funding to support and enhance existing programs, and towards new construction or renovations. From April 2011 to December 2014, more than 217,000 households have benefitted from the IAH nationally, including more than 9,200 households in British Columbia. I would also like to draw members attention to CMHCs Affordable Housing Centre, which helps create new affordable housing, including rental housing, for projects that do not rely on federal subsidies, by offering assistance such as Seed Funding, and Proposal Development Funding. Since 2006, CMHCs Affordable Housing Centre has facilitated the production of more than 25,000 affordable housing units of which 10,773 were for seniors. In addition, CMHC provides a wide range of mortgage loan insurance products that help Canadians, including seniors, access housing finance at competitive interest rates. CMHC also provides mortgage loan insurance for large, multi-unit rental properties including nursing and retirement homes; a segment of the market only served by CMHC. From 2009 to 2014, CMHC provided mortgage insurance on loans for 50,002 seniors housing units. Taken together, this broad range of housing activities supports vulnerable Canadians, homeowners, renters and the housing sector. I hope this information helps assure the members that our Government is committed to affordable housing solutions and to helping Canadians meet their housing needs.