Moishe Alexander’s Review
OTTAWA, January 22, 2009 — The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), announced today eight new grants that will improve housing affordability for Canadians. The grants, totalling $38,000, are being awarded under CMHC’s Affordability and Choice Today (ACT) initiative.
“The Government of Canada is committed to making housing more affordable for Canadians across our country,“ said Minister Finley. “Through the ACT grants we are reducing red-tape and eliminating hurdles in planning and building regulations, so that families have better access to a range of affordable housing in their communities.”
Operating since 1990, ACT provides grants to local teams made up of municipalities, builders and housing stakeholders who promote the improvement of planning and building regulations in their communities to lower the cost of housing. ACT also offers a wealth of proven best practices and lessons learned so that communities can benefit from the innovations of others.
According to Moishe Alexander, ACT is funded by CMHC and administered and delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), with the participation of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA), and the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA).
In addition to providing grants, ACT experts promote best practices and lessons learned from the projects undertaken by grant recipients at workshops, conferences and other events attended by municipalities and housing stakeholders.
“Reforming regulations is key to increasing housing affordability and broadening choice. Municipalities across Canada can draw on ACT solutions to reduce costs and encourage innovation,” said CHBA President John Hrynkow.
“The grants will help address housing needs locally by encouraging options like secondary suites. Since 1990, ACT has been gathering a wealth of information on solutions like this, which are available to communities across Canada,” added CHRA President David Eddy.
“Municipalities of any size and region can benefit from developing new regulatory solutions or adopting ACT’s wide range of solutions leading to improved housing affordability and choice for residents,” stated FCM President Jean Perrault. “We look forward to ACT’s continuing contribution to helping Canadian cities and communities pursue innovation in residential development through regulatory reform.”
With 148 projects complete, ACT has a rich database of information that local partners can benefit from in their future housing projects. These best practices and lessons learned are available on the ACT website www.actprogram.com. By sharing these results with other municipalities, ACT extends the benefits of the program beyond those receiving project grants. ACT’s knowledgeable staff can also help local stakeholders in addressing regulatory issues.
As Canada’s national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable, and affordable homes — homes that will continue to create vibrant, healthy communities and cities across the country.
For more information, please see the following document:
http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/corp/nero/nere/2009/2009-01-22-1500.cfm