Need for affordable homes in Cape Breton outstrips new federal funding, says prof

Financial support from the federal government will help eliminate barriers for building new homes in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, but local housing experts say the funds may not help people most in need.

Last Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau travelled to Nova Scotia to announce $13.3 million in funding to fast-track construction of 367 housing units in Cape Breton over the next three years.

A housing expert at Cape Breton University said she's not confident this funding will help low-income residents find new housing.

"The municipality will use it in part to focus on building more affordable units, but it doesn't say what they mean by affordable," said Catherine Leviten-Reid, a professor in community economic development who studies housing issues.

"So for me it does raise this question about what kind of affordable housing development are we talking about supporting through this accelerator fund and will that be for households who are most in need in our municipality?"

Cape Breton University professor Catherine Leviten-Reid suggests CBRM any plans for new housing in the municipality needs to make deeply affordable housing a top priority. (Tom Ayers/CBC)

According to the federal government, the housing accelerator fund allows municipalities to change zoning, speed up building permits and increase the use of public and underutilized lands. The program will also allow CBRM to speed up approvals for building permits, hire more staff to deal with housing developments and cut construction times by providing developers with incentives.

Leviten-Reid said that will go a long way toward getting more dedicated staff to deal with housing proposals and speed up their work. She calls these changes a positive and said municipal staff are already working full-out to deal with paperwork related to housing developments.

"My understanding is that the staff at CBRM have really had to add this to their already extensive workloads and really work on housing at the side of their desk," she said. "So I think that this is quite valuable as far as funds available for human resources."

She however said it's a relatively small amount of money considering the much larger need for affordable housing in the municipality.

"We have 1,200 households right now on our public housing waitlist," said Leviten-Reid. "And so while I think that this kind of behind-the-scenes work is part of [a solution], I think that really it's a small part compared to the big picture."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an announcement on housing in Membertou First Nation on Cape Breton Island, N.S., on Feb. 22. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press)

One group that plans to speed up housing construction said the program also provides incentives for non-profit and private home builders to develop affordable projects.

"It's a very good thing for our municipality to have some increased capacity to not only participate in conversations and planning around housing, but to make some actual capital contributions to housing that we desperately need," said Erika Shea, CEO and president of New Dawn Enterprises.

But she said she's not sure the program will speed up zoning changes that are needed, in some cases, before construction can begin.

"My understanding is that, you know, the process for a zoning change is largely dictated by the province and there are several requirements in the process to get a zoning change," she said. "I don't know that this fund is going to change that."

Shea also wants to know how the federal government will define affordable housing.

Shea said once buildings are completed, she hopes municipalities can find a way to hold organizations and developers accountable over the long term to keep rents affordable.

MORE TOP STORIES