Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went to Saint John, New Brunswick recently to announce the federal government has reached an agreement with the city to expedite action on 285 new housing units over the next three years.
Under the Housing Accelerator Fund, this agreement will offer $9.18 million to help in meeting the housing demand in Saint John.
In a news conference which took place in Saint John, Trudeau said: “We’ve worked very, very hard with the City of Saint John to come to an ambitious proposal that’s going to increase densification, that’s going to accelerate the processes in terms of building more houses more quickly.
“They are looking at freeing up public land for housing, they are looking at all the different things that are going to, not just make individual projects happen, but change the way all housing is built in this community and, by extension, right across the country.”
Trudeau stated that the federal government signed housing accelerator agreements with cities that were willing to be “bold and ambitious about meeting the growth that Canadians want and need.”
He said: “It’s about building a better country for everyone, in which people can have that building block and that pathway towards greater and greater success by having a secure and affordable place to live.”
The Mayor of Saint John, Donna Reardon and MP Wanye Long joined Trudeau at the news conference.
Reardon said as a city, Saint John is dedicated to speeding up the development of affordable housing.
Reardon said: “It‘s a pivotal moment for Saint John as we collaborate with the federal government on the housing accelerator fund.
“As a small city with a big heart, we have to be bold and we want to grow.”
As part of the agreement, Saint John will:cut red tape, decrease requirements, and speed up approval timelines for missing-middle units; work to reform its zoning bylaw approvals, use public and underutilized lands for housing development; implement a new permitting system; and work with non-profit and private home builders to coordinate, fund, and develop affordable housing projects
