The Northern Ontario Service Deliverers Association, which represents district social services administration boards across the north, is working to have the first phase of affordable housing projects ready for construction by June 2027. The proposal includes 11 sites that have undergone preliminary assessments, with 300 units intended for low-income households and 309 for moderate-income households. “We’ve got lots of mining, lots of minerals and people need places to live,” said Fern Dominelli, executive director of NOSDA. “Whether, you know, it’s the PSW or it’s the paramedic or it’s someone working in a corner store or a waitress, everyone has to have a place to live and that’s our goal here, is to make sure that there’s affordable housing across the north.” Construction depending on funding However, construction can’t begin until funding is secured. NOSDA is pursuing funding opportunities through government programs and working with banks and provincial partners. “We have funding options to Build Canada Homes, to Building Ontario Fund. We have the applications and we’re working with the banks and we’re working with the province,” said Dominelli. “So our hope is that by next June, we’ll have the funding in place to actually start construction. That’s our hope.” Dominelli said NOSDA has more than 13,000 people on its housing waiting list, along with more than 8,000 people experiencing homelessness. The first phase is part of a larger plan that could eventually deliver approximately 1,200 homes across northern Ontario.
