City, province likely to see funding for new $4B Indigenous housing strategy
A $4 billion federal housing strategy targeting urban and rural Indigenous communities, outlined in the Liberal government’s Budget 2023, will likely lead to housing projects here in Winnipeg and Manitoba.
“Winnipeg is the Indigenous capital of Canada,” said Northern Affairs Minister and MP for St. Boniface – St. Vital Dan Vandal.
“So we’re going to be there at the table and make sure Winnipeg and Manitoba gets its proper allocation."
Four billion dollars over four years has been earmarked by the federal government in its proposed budget to develop and implement an Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy. This is new funding that will start in 2024, on top of $300 million announced in Budget 2022.
A report submitted to the House of Commons in 2020, however, noted a need for $25 billion in federal funding over ten years for a national Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous housing strategy.
“This is one program in a suite of different housing programs being rolled out simultaneously,” said Minister Vandal, noting the housing accelerator fund and distinctions-based housing programs as examples.
“This is for large cities and isolated areas in the north and rural areas where there is a real need,” he said.
Winnipeg has the largest population of urban Indigenous people in Canada and the newly announced funding will likely go towards supporting initiatives like Fre Maachi, the Manitoba Metis Federation's (MMF) new housing-first project at 670 Main Street.
“The $4 billion over seven years is an excellent start, there’s no doubt that there’s a need,” said MMF housing minister Will Goodon.
“If I build a couple of senior’s duplexes in one area, all of a sudden there’s three other communities that have the same needs. The more you pull back the rug the more you see what we really need,” he said.
Goodon has already been speaking with federal officials, including the housing minister, on elements of an urban, northern and remote Indigenous housing strategy.
The new funding will be a compliment to already-allocated federal funds for distinctions-based housing strategies for Indigenous communities.
“What ‘distinction-based’ means is that First Nations, Inuit and Metis will all receive funding specific to their government structures,” said Goodon.
“That’s an absolutely important thing to underline and we have to remind the decision makers… that we are the ones that can make that delivery to our people,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Angst and calls for resting places as Surrey, B.C., pet cemetery development continues
A single headstone is all that remains of dozens of markers for long-buried pets in a subdivision in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood, where a half-acre parcel bears a large sign announcing the proposed construction of new homes.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.