Out of the $33 million set aside to kickstart the building of new public housing units this year, New Brunswick will spend just $4 million.
The minister responsible for housing, Jill Green, says it took some time to get the process started, but that there are 40 units now under construction, with another 90 planned to begin in the spring.
“We set up the housing corporation, we did the housing-for-all strategy and this is the first time our group has done this in fifty years. They’ve got to get right the tendering and procurement process,” Green told reporters Thursday.
In 2022 the government announced it would spend $102.2 million to build 380 new public housing units by 2026, the first new public units constructed by the government in 38 years. The 2023-2024 capital budget set aside $33 million, the first big chunk of money attached to the commitment, yet $29 million of that won’t be spent this year.
Liberal housing critic Richard Losier said it’s unacceptable that the province wasn’t able to accelerate the process to address the housing needs of the province.
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“To come in the house and say that there’s $29 million not spent out of $33 million, no wonder we have surpluses and people are suffering,” he said. “It’s not right at all.”
Green leader David Coon said the unspent money is the result of years of government inaction on housing and therefore a New Brunswick Housing Corporation that wasn’t ready when called upon.
“This was the problem with not having a functional New Brunswick Housing Corporation — there was no one really in a position with adequate resources and staff to maximize the use of the funds available,” he said.
Green said that there are about 10,000 people on the waiting list for a public unit. She said the government is still committed to making the full $100 million available, but wasn’t sure if that would mean greater funding in future years or an extra year to fulfill the commitment. The 2024-25 capital budget released on Tuesday earmarks another $33 million, the same as the previous year.
While the process of getting new units built has been slower than she would have liked, Green said that she is hopeful building will accelerate in a meaningful way come next fiscal year.