Local family receives keys to Habitat for Humanity home with support from Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan

PRINCE ALBERT, SK, June 7, 2019 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada, the Government of Saskatchewan and Habitat for Humanity Prince Albert have partnered to help a Prince Albert family realize their dream of homeownership.

The Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), and the Honourable Joe Hargave, Minister of Crown Investments Corporation and Member of the Legislative Assembly for Prince Albert Carlton, on behalf of the Honourable Paul Merriman, Minister of Social Services and Minister responsible for Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC), and Jan Thomas, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Prince Albert (Habitat) made the announcement today.

The home, located at 589 24^th Street East, was built in a partnership between CORCAN and Habitat. CORCAN, a special operating agency of Correctional Service Canada (CSC), works with inmates through certified vocational training programs where inmates build houses while acquiring skills for the home construction industry. The home is a six-bedroom bungalow totalling approximately 1,175 square feet (109 square metres) with a partially developed basement.

Quotes:

"Our Government is committed to building partnerships with organizations like Habitat to support their crucial work in communities across Saskatchewan. This safe and affordable new home will serve as a solid foundation for this family to grow and prosper. When families have access to housing that meets their needs, we start to see the transformative effect this has on communities—together with partners we're building a society all Canadians can be proud of." — Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

"Moving into a home, especially a first home, is something that people never forget and I am pleased that Habitat and its partners can help make that happen for Saskatchewan families in need. Our government believes in standing with Saskatchewan people and working with strong partners to provide homeownership options across the province. We sincerely thank everyone involved for their hard work on this project."— Honourable Joe Hargrave, Minister of Crown Investments Corporation and Member of the Legislative Assembly for Prince Albert Carlton

"Prince Albert Habitat is celebrating another successful build partnership. Completed in part with funds donated by the federal and provincial governments, through CMHC and SHC, this home will serve a very large family of ten! Locally named our Lake Country Co-op home, and built primarily with labor allocated by Corrections Canada, this partnership rose above and beyond what we always strive to accomplish. To build our biggest home yet, with such generous local, provincial and federal support makes this a very great accomplishment to Habitat and everyone involved. The family is extremely grateful for this opportunity, and for a safe and stable home and community to raise their children."— Jan Thomas, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity Prince Albert

Quick facts:

• The Government of Canada, through CMHC, and the Government of Saskatchewan, through SHC, jointly contributed $50,000 toward the construction of this home through the Canada-Saskatchewan Investment in Affordable Housing Agreement.
• The Government of Saskatchewan also contributed $55,000 through the Summit Action Fund.
• The Government of Canada is currently rolling out its National Housing Strategy (NHS), an ambitious 10-year, $40 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 percent.
• Thanks to new investments proposed in Budget 2019, Canada's National Housing Strategy will be a 10-year, $55 billion plan that will give more Canadians a place to call home.
• The Province's overall commitment to Habitat totals $10.85 million since March 2009. This total includes funding of $600,000 from the provincial Summit Action Fund.
• This investment supports Saskatchewan's Housing Strategy goals of ensuring Saskatchewan people have access to affordable, safe, secure and stable housing.
• Each partner family selected by Habitat contributes 500 partnering hours in building their home or other Habitat homes. The family purchases their home at fair market value, paying an interest-free, zero down-payment mortgage set at 25 percent of their annual gross income. Upon completion, the affordable no-interest mortgage is provided by Habitat to partner families with mortgage payments going back for future builds. To learn more about Habitat for Humanity and their work across Saskatchewan, visit www.habitat.ca.

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. For more information, please visit 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.

SOURCE Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation