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Moishe Alexander visits site of new Grand Falls-Based Youth Shelter

Comments: 0September 1st, 2009 by admin

The provincial and federal governments have partnered to provide financial assistance to support the expansion and renovation of a youth shelter in Grand Falls.

Today, Mike Allen, Member of Parliament for Tobique Mactacquac, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and Kelly Lamrock, New Brunswick Social Development and Housing Minister, officially opened the new addition of Centre Jeunesse Oasis Youth Center. The shelter received funding for improvements as part of the Canada – New Brunswick Shelter Enhancement Program.

“The Government of Canada is committed to making affordable housing available in New Brunswick and across Canada for those who need it most,” said MP Allen. “These projects are helping young people in our community access safe and suitable housing, and build a stronger future for themselves.”

“We are pleased to join our partners in this project to see more shelter units being created for the benefit of young people from Madawaska and Victoria counties,” said Minister Lamrock, who is also the minister responsible for housing. “A safe, secure place for a young person is crucial to their development and is part of our government’s efforts to better support youth at risk in the province.”

The project received $157,654 from the federal and provincial governments to assist with repairs of the existing facility and the addition of two apartments and three extra rooms, as part of the Shelter Enhancement Program.

Centre Jeunesse Oasis Youth Center is a group home for at-risk youth aged 12 to 18 from the Madawaska and Victoria area, as well as elsewhere in the province. The center provides shelter, support and an educational program for up to six young men, or young women at any given time.

A new program consisting of two supervised apartment settings has been added to prepare older youth for independent living as they move through the program.

“Since 1992, Centre Jeunesse Oasis Youth Center has been providing a safe, secure home for young people. We are very pleased to have an opportunity to expand our facility and make necessary improvements,” said Hubert Morin, President of the centre’s Board of Directors. “This funding has enabled us to better prepare young people to develop the life skills and confidence to live independently.”

The Canada – New Brunswick Shelter Enhancement Program provides financial assistance to repair and or rehabilitate emergency shelters and second stage housing for victims of family violence to an acceptable standard of health, safety and security for occupants and accessibility for persons with disabilities. It also aims to increase the number of emergency shelters and second stage housing units available to women and children or youth who are at risk.

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Construction to Begin on New Affordable Housing in Timiskaming

Comments: 0August 17th, 2009 by admin

Posted by Moishe Alexander

COBALT, ON, August 14, 2009 — The Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and the Town of Cobalt today announced $1.5 million to fund a construction-ready project.

The funding was made available as a result of a $1.2 billion joint investment under the amended Canada – Ontario Affordable Housing Program Agreement, which includes funding through Canada’s Economic Action Plan and by the Government of Ontario. The federal and provincial governments are contributing equally to this overall investment.

Today’s announcement recognized the successful application by Co-Tem Pro Native Non-Profit Housing Inc to build 15 units of affordable housing for low-income families.

The Honourable Gordon O’Connor, Minister of State, Chief Government Whip and Member of Parliament for Carleton – Mississippi, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC); and David Ramsay, Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier and Member of Provincial Parliament for Timiskaming – Cochrane on behalf of the Honourable Jim Watson, Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; along with Norman Menard, Chair of the District of Timiskaming Social Services Administration Board, made the announcement today at the housing site.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Harper, our Government is working hard to support Canadians during these challenging economic times and we are moving aggressively to ensure Canada’s Economic Action Plan is implemented rapidly,” said Minister O’Connor. “With these investments in Ontario, we are stimulating our economy and making an important difference in the lives of some of our community’s most vulnerable citizens. Low-income families, seniors, and persons with disabilities will soon have better access to suitable, affordable housing.”

“New housing initiatives add significant support to the McGuinty government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy,” said MPP Ramsay. “This first wave of funding will lead to construction by September and we will continue to work with our municipal partners to ensure more units are built during the life of this program.”

“We have a considerable demand for Social Housing, especially in the south end of our District and this project will assist us in fulfilling some of this demand,” said Chair Menard. “Programs such as the Canada – Ontario Affordable Housing Program Agreement are essential for our district if we are going to have the means to increase our affordable housing units.”

Ontario is moving quickly to implement this new funding, which increases the number of quick start projects to 39 totalling more than $76.5 million and which will improve access to affordable housing for low-income families, seniors and persons with disabilities. It will also create jobs and strengthen local economies. To find out more about affordable housing in Ontario, visit www.mah.gov.on.ca.

Last fall, the Government of Canada committed more than $1.9 billion over the next five years to improve and build new affordable housing and to help the homeless. Canada’s Economic Action Plan builds on this with an additional one-time investment of more than $2 billion over two years in new and existing social housing and lending of up to another $2 billion to municipalities for housing-related infrastructure.

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Protecting Investments from Inflation

Comments: 0July 17th, 2009 by admin

Vince writes,

My problem is as follows: I am an immigrant who has been in Canada for 6-7yrs and have no RRSP room to speak of, and can only count on a small CPP. All my savings and investments are in a non-registered account.

How do I protect myself against inflation? Do I buy short term bonds (XSB), real return bonds, or do I stay with common shares?

My allocation if I include property is about 60/40 FI/Equities.

Inflation is certainly a hot topic for many investors since every pundit in the media has an opinion of where inflation will appear and to what degree of severity with hyperinflation being a term that’s been thrown around far too loosely as governments attempt to stimulate economies.

Any conservative investor, regardless of risk or investment style, needs to concern themselves with inflation in all market conditions because inflation affects the real value of your investments. If your investment portfolio returned 4% after costs last year and the inflation rate was 2% your real return for the portfolio was only 2%. What an investor wants to do is achieve returns in their portfolio that outpace inflation over the long-term and provide them with equal or greater purchasing power in the future.

Investing for inflation is really not much different than wanting a raise each year that matches your increases in the cost of living. Essentially your portfolio should be giving you a raise each year in your income to offset the increasing prices of goods and services you use.

To answer Vince’s answer directly it’s not whether he should invest in only short-term bonds, real return bonds or common shares but how much of each to hold over the long-term.

Short-term bonds provide decent inflation protection at the expense of a much lower yield than a longer yielding bonds because you’re not taking on the same interest rate risk. Real return bonds maintain your investment from inflation and you only need to buy a weighting large enough for your desired allocation. Common shares, specifically ones that pay dividends, offer an investor a few advantages in terms of protecting against inflation. Companies that own/operate inflation sensitive assets such as real estate, commodities and infrastructure tend to fare better in valuation terms than other companies. Some dividends stocks pay a dividend and increase that dividend on a yearly basis above the annual rate of inflation then have already achieved your desired goal if the dividend continues to be paid regardless of the effect on share prices. Because dividends, for Canadians, are eligible for the Dividend Tax Credit in a non-registered portfolio the taxation of dividends is less than that of gains from interest (bonds & GIC’s) or from capital gains.

http://www.nurseb911.com/2009/07/protecting-investments-from-inflation.html

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC canadian funding corp CEO

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Posted in Alberta, British Columbia, CMHC, Housing Market, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Ontario, Quebec, Rental Market, Uncategorized

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