Alberta's Minister for Seniors and Housing Josephine Pon. (Government of Alberta)

By Justin Goulet/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Province unveils new 20-year plan to improve affordable housing

Nov 2, 2021 | 9:16 AM

EDMONTON, AB – The Government of Alberta has announced its 10-year strategy to improve access to affordable housing.

Stronger Foundations maps out the plans and changes needed to create safe, stable and affordable housing for an additional 25,000 households in the province, increasing the total number of households served to 82,000 – an increase of over 40 per cent.

The plan outlines how the province will:

• Support Albertans most in need;
• Improve access to affordable housing;
• Increase capacity, planning and governance;
• Enhance sustainability and efficiency;
• Enable growth and investment.

Minister for Seniors and Housing, Josephine Pon said “Albertans deserve a housing system that is flexible, fair, inclusive and sustainable.”

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“The Stronger Foundations strategy focuses on partnerships and innovation to meet the diverse and unique housing needs of Albertans across the province now and into the future.”

She added that “having a safe and secure place to call home will create new opportunities for Albertans.” The direction of the Stronger Foundations plan is based on advice from the province’s Affordable Housing Review Panel.

Additionally, if Bill 78, the Alberta Housing Amendment Act, is passed, it will set the stage for key initiatives under Stronger Foundations. The overall strategy identifies long-term collaboration with non-profits and private housing providers and communities that will help create new housing projects to better serve local needs by:

• Making it possible for the province to enter into partnerships and joint ventures to provide affordable housing;
• Clearly defining the terms “affordable housing accommodation” and “provider” in legislation;
• Formally designating affordable housing accommodations and providers;
• Ensuring oversight for, and accountability of, non-housing management body providers and new partnerships, and;
• Giving the ministry authority to require specific knowledge or skills for housing management body boards.

Stronger Foundations will be implemented over the next 10 years. The province noted that more than 57,000 households in Alberta live in affordable housing, and over 24,000 are on wait-lists.

NDP Seniors and Housing critic Lori Sigurdson made the following statement in response to the introduction of Bill 78: Alberta Housing Amendment Act, 2021:

“This bill is a clear plan to sell Alberta’s affordable housing stock while poverty drastically increases across the province. The government needs to build more affordable housing, not sell it.

“The UCP are trying to avoid responsibility to provide safe housing to Albertans. They leave many questions unanswered. Who will these new homes serve? What do the private developers who build these homes receive? And, what measures will be in place to ensure Albertans who need housing are served?

“The UCP have been a terrible partner to multiple levels of government when it comes to building housing. They have continually ignored the requests of municipalities, such as the City of Edmonton, to build affordable housing, leaving federal funding on the table.

“Solving problems in affordable housing and addressing long waiting lists requires bold action and significant investment. As minister of Seniors and Housing, I was proud to work with housing providers and invest $1.2 billion to build affordable housing. The UCP’s $238 million investment is a drop in the bucket and is simply not enough.”

(With files from rdnewsNOW)