Speaking Notes for

Joy Smith, Member of Parliament for Kildonan – St. Paul

On behalf of

The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development

Opening Event for City Oasis

435 Cumberland Avenue
Winnipeg, MB
August 5, 2006
12:00 p.m.

Check against delivery

Good afternoon. Bonjour.

I am pleased to join you on behalf of my colleague, the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development — and the Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Today, we are here to celebrate the opening of the City Oasis affordable housing project.

The strength of Canada is the strength of our communities. That's why the federal government is continuing to provide support for projects like this one. City Oasis will provide 42 units of affordable housing for seniors, allowing them to live as independently as possible in their community.

Canada’s new government is very proud to be working in close cooperation with the Province of Manitoba to fund this project, through federal funding of over $1 million under the Canada – Manitoba Affordable Housing Agreement.

City Oasis also received $20,000 in Seed Funding, consisting of a $10,000 grant and a $10,000 repayable interest-free loan. Seed funding is a CMHC initiative which provides financial assistance to groups to assist them in the early stages of developing their housing project proposal.

Through CMHC, our national housing agency for more than 60 years, the federal government provides approximately $2 billion a year in housing assistance across the country. This primarily supports some 633,000 lower-income households. For the people of Manitoba, this represents a total of about $113 million annually — in support of about 43,000 lower-income households.

My government believes that all Canadians should have a fair chance to own or rent their own home. That’s why our 2006 federal Budget also provided a one-time strategic investment of $1.4 billion in new housing trust funds for provinces and territories to invest in affordable housing.

Today's event marks an important step forward for the people of Winnipeg and demonstrates what we can achieve when we work together. When it comes to building communities, it takes the efforts of many to achieve success. It takes partnerships at all levels of government. And it also takes creative and innovative people with a vision.

Thank you to all those involved in this project, especially the Indochina Chinese Association of Manitoba. This new residence will go a long way towards providing Winnipeg’s dynamic Indochina Chinese community with affordable housing options and services for seniors. I applaud your work in this community over the past 20 years and wish you continued success in the future.

Thank you for joining us today. Merci.