Human Resources committee  Nimbyism seems to never go away. One thing we've been trying to do in New Brunswick, which has been successful across Canada in varying degrees, is called the inclusionary zoning method. Let's say you have a subdivision of a certain size. The municipality will say that a certain percentage of that subdivision will be affordable housing.

Human Resources committee  Let me say that in Fredericton we've had discussions with Brian Duplessis of the Fredericton Homeless Shelters. I think he appeared here. His line is that he doesn't want more beds; he wants to be working himself out of a job there. We are simply saying that we're in a sort of backlog situation, in that from 1993 to probably 2001, there was not very much social housing built in Canada.

Human Resources committee  Well, that number of 7,000 includes non-profit and co-op housing. For co-ops, I'm not sure of the exact number. It would be under 1,000, for sure. It's mostly non-profit housing.

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I'm with the association as its policy and conference coordinator. I've been with the association for a few years. Prior to that, I worked for a long time for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, so housing is near and dear to my heart. Our association has some 200 non-profit and co-op housing providers in the province of New Brunswick, who supply some 7,000 units of affordable housing to aboriginal and non-aboriginal families, seniors, and individuals with special needs.

Finance committee  The funds are available for the groups to apply for, so groups are, as we speak, applying for the funding. One issue, though, is the March 31, 2009, deadline. That's one of the main issues of not having a long-term housing strategy: groups get some money, and then they have to panic and try to get a housing project put together.

Finance committee  I have a good example for you. In the city of Fredericton over the last year we developed what's called an ad hoc affordable housing committee, where we have all levels of government--the federal, the provincial, the municipal--and we have the business community, the home builders, and the non-profit groups there.

Finance committee  Definitely, that would be an excellent move, I think. Instead of having the surpluses from CMHC go into general revenue, it makes terrific sense to put it into affordable housing, whereby we continue to build on the stock we have on the ground and ensure its longevity. So I think that would be a great move.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and honourable members. It's a pleasure to be here to follow up on the brief we submitted in September. Our association in New Brunswick has 213 non-profit and co-op housing providers who are serving some 6,000 households in New Brunswick. Our members provide affordable housing to people with low incomes, whether they be families, seniors, or clients with special needs.