Iveson calling for housing dollars in upcoming provincial budget to operate five planned developments

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Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson answers questions about the city's COVID-19 coronavirus preparedness during a press conference at Kathleen Andrews Transit Garage in Edmonton. in Edmonton, on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Photo by Ian Kucerak/PostmediaEdmonton Mayor Don Iveson is asking the province to provide $5.9 million in annual funding to support the operations of five planned housing developments. Photo by Ian Kucerak /Postmedia file

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Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson is urging the province to earmark $5.9 million annually in Thursday’s budget to operate five supportive housing projects.

Two developments for homeless Edmontonians consisting of 80 units are already in the works and three more with 130 units could also be built by early next year, pending funding approval from the federal government.

But Iveson said the city needs the province to step up and provide the “lights-on” funding of $5.9 million so the developments can operate. This would include funding for health and support services to be offered on-site. He argued the necessary dollars are already in the province’s justice and health-care systems, which will find cost savings if these sites are opened.

The issue of homelessness has been in the spotlight over the past week after a group of people were kicked out of the Central LRT Station Sunday when wind chills were around -33 C.

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“We’ve seen tremendous public outcry again for a solution to homelessness that reduces people’s negative interactions with police and also their avoidable interactions with the heath-care and justice systems, where again savings can be found to more than offset the cost of activating those housing units that the federal government is providing,” Iveson told reporters Friday. “We think the resources are in the system, including some of the initiatives the government has prioritized and we’d appreciate a nod from them in the budget that we’re going to be able to turn these units on that we’re already building with the federal dollars.”

Mary Persson, the city’s chief financial officer, provided a pre-budget update to council’s executive committee Friday morning to break down what the city would like to see when the document is released next week. The city is asking the province to maintain funding previously announced, including dollars for infrastructure projects that account for more than one-third of the city’s approved capital budget.

“Maintaining capital funding from the province at its current levels is essential as the federal government ramps up capital transfers. Provincial reductions could limit our ability to capitalize on the new federal programs and we would be at risk of falling behind on key initiatives such as transit development,” she told councillors. “We do appreciate the financial pressures that our partners at the Government of Alberta are facing and our focus for 2021 is on maintaining current commitments and looking for support for those that need it most in these difficult economic times, such as small businesses and our partners in the housing field.”

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The province didn’t offer any new funding for affordable housing in the 2020 budget, to the dismay of Iveson, as the city plans to build 900 units of supportive housing by 2024 in an effort to end chronic homelessness. In October, Iveson called for a provincial investment of $17.4 million to match the federal funding, but that request has since been whittled down to focus on the units due to come online next year.

According to Homeward Trust, there are currently more than 2,000 people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton and 817 people have been housed within the last six months.

The 2021 provincial budget will be released Thursday afternoon.

duscook@postmedia.com

twitter.com/dustin_cook3

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