City of Whitehorse gets $5M to transform hotel into supportive housing

The Yukon's Rapid Housing Initiative received a $5 million funding boost Tuesday.

The funding was announced by Ahmed Hussen, the federal minister of housing and diversity and inclusion, along with Ranj Pillai, Yukon minister responsible for the Yukon Housing Corporation, Yukon MP Brendan Hanley, and WHitehorse Mayor Laura Cabott.

A news release issued Tuesday said the new funds are in addition to the previous $12.86 million from the federal government through the first phase.

The new funds stem from the unanimous Whitehorse city council vote in August in favour of a proposal to take over the High Country Inn and create 55 permanent supportive housing units in that building.

The vote meant the city, which is working with the Safe at Home Society, would apply for $5 million in funding under the cities stream of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)'s Rapid Housing Initiative, which is designed to increase stable housing stock across the country.

"This is a perfect example of a very good project, a good initiative, and it's a really good example of not one government, not one agency that is going to solve the problems of … affordable housing," Cabott said during Monday night's council meeting.

The release said at least 25 per cent of the new funding will go toward women-focused housing projects and that units will be built within 12 months of when funding is provided to program applicants.

Counc. Dan Boyd said during Monday's council meeting that the "city desperately needs the supportive housing."

"It's always difficult and hard to develop and put that in place. So it's great that city will get another … up to 55 units of supportive housing."

In the 2021 federal budget, $1.5 billion was allocated for the Rapid Housing Initiative second round of funding for 2021-22,  with $500 million in funding under the Cities Stream.  

Round 1 of the Rapid Housing Initiative was  $1 billion funding program that launched in October 2020 to help address urgent housing needs of vulnerable Canadians, the release says, "especially in the context of COVID-19, through the rapid construction of affordable housing."

The program is delivered by the CMHC under the National Housing Strategy.

"Like many jurisdictions across Canada, the Yukon is experiencing a high demand for housing," Pillai said in a statement. "It is important that our governments have a united approach that aims to support innovative partnerships and solutions that grow housing stock and address the affordability gap."