The Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan, along with the City of Prince Albert and P.A. Community Housing Society Inc. (PACHSI), officially broke ground to construct a new 14-unit affordable rental housing project in Prince Albert.

The project will provide safe, quality housing for eight individuals with acquired brain injury and complex needs, as well as six to 12 women exiting the justice system and working towards family reunification.

Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Joe Hargrave, Minister of Crown Investments Corporation and MLA for Prince Albert Carlton, on behalf of Paul Merriman, Minister of Social Services and Minister Responsible for the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC), Greg Dionne, Mayor of the City of Prince Albert, and Linda Boyer, General Manager of PACHSI, made the announcement today.

Located at 861 River Street West, the project consists of eight one-bedroom units (two accessible) and six two-bedroom units (one accessible).  The project will be approximately 13,800 square feet (1,286 square metres) in size.

“Our Government is pleased to announce this project, which supports vulnerable people who often face barriers to finding safe, affordable housing,” Duclos said.  “It’s an example of the life-changing impact that our historic investments, through the National Housing Strategy, are having on individual and families in need across the country.”

“Our Government is pleased to support this project, which will allow the tenants to rebuild their lives beginning with a safe, comfortable and supportive home,” Hargrave said.  “We are proud to work with CMHC, the City of Prince Albert and PACHSI to bring this project to life and, most importantly, make a difference for Saskatchewan people in greatest housing need.” 

“I am excited about this project as it fills a need and big demand for affordable housing in our community,” Dionne said.  “Thank you to the Federal and Provincial Governments and the Prince Albert Community Housing Society Inc. for continuing to bring affordable housing to Prince Albert.” 

“We are very pleased with the support and funding received from the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation, the Provincial Métis Housing Corporation, the Government of Canada and the municipal government on this project that will eventually house, persons living with an acquired brain injury or mental cognitive disability on the first floor and women exiting the correctional centres on the second floor,” Boyer said.  “The end goal is to stabilize their housing, refer them to programs and reunite them with their children or families. Once completed, these units will not only reduce the number of homeless in the city but also give hard-to-house tenants affordable and independent living units, and most importantly, a place they can call home and be proud of.”  


Quick facts:

• The Government of Canada, through CMHC, and the Government of Saskatchewan, through SHC, are jointly contributing up to $980,000 towards the project under the Canada-Saskatchewan Investment in Affordable Housing Agreement (IAH).
• The City of Prince Albert provided $30,000 to this project. An additional $105,000 was approved by CMHC.
• The Provincial Métis Housing Corporation provided $500,000 to this project from the NHS Aboriginal Homelessness Funding Stream.
• Supports for acquired brain injury (ABI) tenants are to be provided by PACHSI through a peer support worker and by referral from non-profit organizations including Canadian Mental Health Association Prince Albert (CMHA-PA), the Health Authority, Our House, Native Co-ordinating Council (NCC), Métis Locals and other organizations.
• Supports for women exiting Pine Grove Correctional Centre are to be provided through a support worker who will make contact with the women prior to release in the correctional centre, assist with moving into a housing unit upon release, provide support until stabilized, and work on family re-unification.
• The Government of Canada is currently rolling out its National Housing Strategy (NHS), an ambitious 10-year, $55 billion plan that will create 100,000 new housing units and lift 530,000 families out of housing need, as well as repair and renew more than 300,000 housing units and reduce chronic homelessness by 50 per cent.
• This project upholds the Province’s Housing Strategy, Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan and Disability Strategy by ensuring Saskatchewan people have access to affordable, safe, secure and stable housing, increasing community capacity and supporting people living with complex mental health and addictions issues through housing and intensive team-based supports.
• PACHSI is a non-profit corporation operating in Prince Albert since 1977, with a total housing portfolio of approximately 400 subsidized, affordable and transitional rental units.

Associated links:
As Canada’s authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers unbiased housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry.  CMHC’s aim is that by 2030, everyone in Canada has a home they can afford, and that meets their needs.

For more information, please visit www.cmhc.ca or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook. To find out more about the National Housing Strategy, visit www.placetocallhome.ca.

In October 2012, the Government of Saskatchewan released the Saskatchewan Plan for Growth: Vision 2020 and Beyond, which sets out the Government’s vision for a province of 1.2 million people by 2020.  The Plan identifies principles, goals and actions to ensure Saskatchewan is capturing the opportunities and meeting the challenges of a growing province. Since 2007, the Government of Saskatchewan has invested more than $790 million to develop or repair more than 16,000 housing units across our province.

To learn more, visit www.saskatchewan.ca.