Aboriginal Housing Corporation set to build off-reserve housing

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The newly created Aboriginal Housing Corporation in Ontario is ready to begin building the first 460 of 2,000 non-profit houses slated for off-reserve Natives.

The houses will be built in a number of urban communities including North Bay, Owen Sound, Sarnia and St. Catherines.

Ontario's Ministry of Housing announced the $200 million housing program June 6 which is estimated to generate as many as 3,000 construction and maintenance jobs in the Native community.

Sylvia Maracle, chairman of the steering committee for the Aboriginal Housing Corporation, said the program is the first of its kind in Canada. The corporation is completely managed and maintained by Native Canadians.

"It's important that our houses are built by our people," said Maracle. This is more than just providing much needed housing for off-reserve Natives, shes insists. It has an added feature to creating Native employment and developing skills and knowledge, she said.

The location of the new houses and the types of homes to be built is decided by the community, Maracle said. If the community is in need of single parent family homes, that is what will be provided. If the community needs to house single men, then a different housing unit will be built.

Although it is a federal responsibility to provide Native housing, the people couldn't wait for resources from that sector to become available, said Maracle

"The people need housing today."

The need is estimated at about 10,000 units, so 2,000 is but a drop in the bucket. But come next year there will be at least 2,000 people better able to help themselves and in turn better able to help others, she said.

About three-quarters of Aboriginal people in Ontario live off-reserve and 80 per cent of those live in large cities, said Ontario Minister of Housing Evelyn Gigantes.

"Historically, they have been the most neglected in terms of housing programs."

She urged her provincial counterparts and the federal minister to take another look at Native housing issues.