Agreement Provides More Support for Indigenous Housing

The quality of life for Nova Scotians greatly depends on access to safe and affordable housing. That is why the province has signed an agreement to fund the repair and renovation of rental units owned and operated by Tawaak Housing Association.

Through the agreement, an investment of $3.7 million will be made to repair and renovate 36 urban native housing units, and maintain existing affordable housing programs and rental rates with 51 rent supplements.

“The Urban Native Housing Program provides people who choose to live off-reserve with the opportunity to put down roots in the city while maintaining ties with their culture,” said Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Chuck Porter. “By working in partnership with Chief Peters and Tawaak Housing Association we can improve rental housing for urban Indigenous people.”

Tawaak Housing Association will complete building condition assessments, already under way, to determine where the work will be done. Work will be prioritized and begin as soon as possible.

The agreement is part of a commitment made in the first three-year action plan under the National Housing Strategy.

Quotes:

“The board of directors for the Tawaak Housing Association is very pleased to see the province of Nova Scotia and the Association, work together towards making the required changes to provide urban native housing that is in good condition for Indigenous people off-reserve. This agreement will provide the means to make necessary improvements and will work towards creating sustainability of the housing stock for the future. A lot of work remains to be done, but this agreement shows true partnership and is a strong step in the right direction.”

– Chief Sidney Peters, Glooscap First Nation and chair, Tawaak Housing Association

Quick Facts:

• the three-year action plan is the first of three required under the 10-year Canada-Nova Scotia Housing Agreement
• by the end of the three-year Action Plan a total of $7.3 million will be invested to repair 71 urban native housing units
• in Budget 2020-21 Nova Scotia is contributing an additional $18.7 million for affordable housing, home repairs, urban native housing, community housing, rent supplements and other provincial housing priorities
• Tawaak Housing Association is a non-profit housing organization that owns and operates off-reserve rental housing for Indigenous people in Nova Scotia
• Tawaak Housing Association has units in Halifax Regional Municipality, Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Truro, Bridgewater, Liverpool and Antigonish

Additional Resources:

Housing Nova Scotia 2019-2022 Action Plan: https://housing.novascotia.ca/2019-2022-nova-scotia-action-plan

Budget 2020-21: Better Together : https://novascotia.ca/budget/

Housing Nova Scotia website: https://housing.novascotia.ca/

Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing Twitter: https://twitter.com/dma_ns