Tuesday, August 22, 2006
NDP applauds victory for housing groups across Canada - Friday August 18, 2006
OTTAWA – NDP Housing Critic Irene Mathyssen applauded the victory for housing groups across Canada today as Minister for Social Development Diane Finley announced that cuts to federal funding for housing through the Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative (SCPI) have been reversed and the program’s $37 million rollover from 2005-06 will now be released.
“Minister Finley’s announcement comes as welcome news to housing groups across Canada, but there’s still work to be done,” said Mathyssen. “We need to ensure the funds now promised are delivered on time and put to effective use. With only seven months left to spend the 2006-07 funds, housing groups need their support delivered as soon as possible.”
Earlier this month, housing groups in Toronto and Ottawa were informed that federal funding for housing in their communities would be cut by $5.8 million and $1 million respectively. As well, Service Canada recently sent letters to housing shelters in Winnipeg confirming that it “had not received the full budget allocation [from the Conservative government]” it had been promised and would therefore be cutting housing spending.
“I applaud the hard work of housing advocates and organizations across Canada as well as the municipal officials who helped apply pressure on the Minister. The NDP will continue to serve as the effective opposition to any cuts the Harper government imposes in housing or in other programs that benefit our society’s most vulnerable,” said Mathyssen.
# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 9:51 PM 
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]