Learn English with Alison Redford, Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services. Alberta is announcing a $21 million increase in operating funding for housing providers to help them manage rising day-to-day expenses and keep operations running smoothly.
00:00:00.000Keeping life affordable is a key part of the province's 2024 budget.
00:00:05.400In fact, more than 90% of our ministry's annual budget flows directly to individuals and organizations that are supporting vulnerable Albertans.
00:00:13.680Earlier this year, I announced a one-time $10 million increase in operating funding to help housing providers continue to house low-income Albertans during high inflation.
00:00:23.140I'm here today to build on that commitment.
00:00:24.960When creating Budget 2024, our housing providers and vulnerable and low-income Albertans made very clear to us that they needed us to do some important work.
00:00:35.920That is why we continue to do the work that we're doing when it comes to investing in affordable housing,
00:00:41.300particularly focusing on increasing affordable housing stock by bringing forward several affordability measures like capital grants, support for housing providers, and rental assistance.
00:00:51.060Ultimately, together with our partners, we're in the process right now of investing $9 billion to create 13,000 more affordable housing units by 2031.
00:01:00.220We've already built almost 5,000 units since 2019.
00:01:03.820We also continue to invest in rent supplements heavily.
00:01:06.500Currently, a quarter billion dollars in rent supplements is coming from the province of Alberta, which is helping tens of thousands of households in our province.
00:01:13.200That's on top of $5.1 billion in affordability measures and supports.
00:01:18.460And, of course, the work that we're doing when it comes to red tape and infrastructure support that has created tens of thousands of new homes in Alberta,
00:01:25.420the highest housing starts in the history of the province, the highest purpose-built rentals in the history of our province,
00:01:31.780including last month, where Calgary saw a record number of construction starts.
00:01:34.920Right now, though, more than 110,000 Albertans live in over 60,000 government-subsidized housing units.
00:01:42.700And with the cost of living rising, demand is rapidly growing.
00:01:47.380In consultation with our housing providers, it was clear that more funding was needed to meet the increased demands and keep operations running smoothly.
00:01:54.940Our government heard that and is taking action.
00:01:57.120Consequently, today, Alberta is announcing an historic $21 million increase in operating funding for our housing providers to help them manage their rising day-to-day expenses.
00:02:07.460This is an increase of nearly 40 percent compared to Budget 2023, and will bring the total funding up to approximately $75 million in Budget 2024-25.
00:02:15.960This funding will be distributed to all housing providers across the province that operate family and community housing.
00:02:21.800Our housing providers will be able to put this money to use in supporting their hard-working staff, covering utilities and routine maintenance,
00:02:29.340and addressing costs associated with unit turnover, processing applications, and managing wait lists.
00:02:35.580These are critical operations and services that we simply cannot put on the back burner.
00:02:40.840By ensuring operations run smoothly, we can assure that vulnerable and low-income Albertans have access to affordable places to call home.
00:02:47.720I do want to take a minute to talk about how today's $75 million commitment into our Stronger Foundation strategy works.
00:02:54.860When I was appointed as Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services, I was given a mandate to continue implementing Alberta's Stronger Foundation strategy.
00:03:03.060And we will continue to enact our 10-year plan and the important work we're doing to build affordable housing across our province.
00:03:08.900By focusing on partnerships and innovation, Alberta's Stronger Foundation strategy maps out thoughtful changes needed to provide safe, stable, affordable housing for an additional 82,000 households by 2031.
00:03:22.140That's an increase of over 40% when compared to 2021.
00:03:26.120The investments I'm announcing today is part of that commitment.
00:03:29.240Though we can make sure that our housing providers keep units open and available and operations running smoothly,
00:03:34.800because at the end of the day, this is an investment in our province and in all Albertans.
00:03:39.640Our government will keep working hard to make sure all Albertans, including vulnerable Albertans, members of our communities and those struggling because of the rising costs,
00:03:47.440have a roof over their heads and a safe place to call home.
00:03:50.480And we are proud of all the hard work Alberta and our housing partners are doing to make that happen.
00:03:55.440Through our partnerships, we can continue to build capacity within the affordable housing system
00:03:59.160and make sure Alberta continues to be the best province to live, work and raise a family.
00:04:04.960As we work together, we can find the right solutions to meet the needs of those Albertans who need it most.
00:04:09.900And Alberta's government will continue to do everything we can to ensure our housing partners have the tools they need to build and operate homes here in Alberta.