Fed funding goes to new Legion veterans apartment tower on Great Northern Road; federal and provincial to create housing for local indigenous Métis
This is a big step forward in providing housing for veterans and the Indigenous people of the Sault and area.
A ceremony at the site of the now-demolished old Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 building at 96 Great Northern Road — which was to be replaced by a new branch and veterans housing building — was attended by several dignitaries Monday morning. The event included the announcement of nearly $132 million to support the construction of over 380 housing units.
Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, accompanied by Sault Ste. MP Terry Sheehan, announced that the federal government is providing – at the local level – $32.1 million in federal funding through the National Housing Co-investment Fund (NHCF) for new Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 location at 96 Great Northern Road.
It will include a nine-story affordable building, including 107 units for veterans, 30 percent of which will be affordable housing. The building will feature amenities for tenants, their families and the community, including a restaurant, meeting rooms, auditorium and gathering space.
It was also announced that Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services will own and operate nine projects serving communities across Ontario, creating 276 affordable units to support Indigenous people.
Some projects will support Indigenous people experiencing or at risk of chronic homelessness, while others will support at-risk Indigenous youth and women and their children.
These projects will receive almost $87 million in federal funding through the NHCF.
Approximately $3.7 million has been committed by the federal government’s bilateral agreement and Ontario’s Priority Housing Initiative to build 52 units in Sault Ste. Marie.
32 of these units will be under the Ontario Aboriginal Housing Authority, another 20 for the Métis Nation of Ontario.
Other local housing units included in Monday’s announcement will be located in Atikokan, Marathon, White River, London, Thunder Bay, Cochran, Kenora and Sarnia.
“Our government is passionate about housing. We will always be a reliable, long-term and predictable partner for you in Sault Ste. Marie as you address the housing challenges facing the citizens here. We want to make sure that everyone, and I mean everyone, in Sault Ste. Marie has a safe and affordable place to call home,” Huysen said, acknowledging that the city of Sault Ste. Marie created a task force to address chronic homelessness.
“It was a pleasure to work with the staff from the local Ontario Aboriginal Housing office and the volunteers from the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 here in Sault Ste. Marie, along with so many other great community stakeholders, to get us here today,” Sheehan said.
Monday’s federal funding is accompanied by $1.9 million from Veterans Housing Ontario.
“This is a very important file. We know how important housing is in our community,” Sault MPP Ross Romano said at Monday’s meeting, expressing his delight that construction on the Legion Veterans Housing Project is underway.
“I want to thank the federal government for supporting the redevelopment of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 here in the Sault,” said Sault Mayor Matthew Shoemaker.
“The need for housing in our community is huge and we take underutilized properties like Legion and make them denser to serve the needs not only of the organization that owns them, like Legion in this case, but also the community’s need for additional housing and is exactly what we need to do more of in our community to address the housing shortage.”
“It should come as no surprise that the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 25, has played a significant role in solving a need in our city. Since Branch 25 was established as the British Empire Service League in 1920, the Legion has served our community and the interests of Sault Ste. Marie,” Shoemaker said.
“This is the site of the former Wawanosh Residential School for Girls, which opened in 1879 and was named after Chief Wawanosh, who fought on the side of the British Empire in the War of 1812,” noted Justine Marchand, CEO of Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services.
He emphasized that many Indigenous veterans had fought for Canada and acknowledged the Legion’s role in ensuring that veterans’ benefits were provided to them.
“Today’s announcement of 276 homes right in Ontario, including 30 right here in Baawaating, also known as Sault Ste. Marie, you will be most welcome in these households.’
“It’s important because right here in Sault Ste. Marie, over two-thirds, 68 percent of people experiencing homelessness are Indigenous, but the distribution of resources still doesn’t reflect the actual need we see on the ground. Indigenous people are 11 times more likely to experience homelessness and the incidence of need is higher. We can do better and we must do better together,” Marchand said.
Helen Stewart, President of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25, expressed her gratitude to all veterans for their service to Canada, the federal government’s assistance in launching the Legion’s new development, and contractor Sam Biasucci, President of Sal-Dan Developments.
“Veterans will have the first call, and if there are any rooms left, then the market is open based on the same selection criteria we have for veterans,” said Clyde Healy, chairman of Branch 25 Property Development.
Branch 25 currently operates a temporary office at the Marconi Cultural Events Center.
Developer Sam Biasucci told SooToday that his contracting firm is confident the new Legion complex on Great Northern Road – at an estimated cost of $30 million – will be ready by June 2024, but is aiming for completion by November 2023 .
Add Comment