The Canadian Press
OTTAWA: Housing and anti-poverty advocates say the coming federal budget will see an increase in funding for affordable housing with short-term investments buying time for the government to build a long-term plan.
Just how much money the government will set aside is unclear.
Sources say the money is expected to flow through an existing program, likely the Homelessness Partnering Strategy that doles out $105 million to cities annually.
The first two years of the increased funding are expected to target renovations to the existing stock of social housing that is aging and in need of repair.
Sources say the government has signalled its intention to use that time to craft a national housing strategy that will look at a broad range of measures, including more social housing and help in building more affordable rental units.
During the last election, the Liberals promised a national housing strategy which would eliminate the GST on all new rental builds and provide up to $125 million a year to landlords who renovate aging rental units.
