Hamilton councillors approve specifics of spending $50 million on poverty reduction

A breakdown has been approved by Hamilton’s general issues committee outlining how $50 million will be spent over 10 years within the city’s poverty reduction investment plan.

The plan includes $20 million for repairs to existing units, $20 million towards the construction of new affordable rental housing and $10 million towards Indigenous poverty reduction.

READ MORE: Poverty plan to focus on affordable housing supply

Overall, the city expects to build dozens of new affordable units each year, while fixing as many as 1,600, many of which are considered uninhabitable.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger acknowledges that the investment will not eliminate Hamilton’s lengthy waiting list for housing, but he says it will have “impact” on the lives of many people.

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Eisenberger adds that it’s almost an economic development issue, since “this is about providing people stable housing environments whereby they can become contributing, employable members of our community.”

The plan will primarily be funded, to the tune of $3 million each year, from the city’s hydro dividend resulting from the merger of Horizon Utilities into the new corporation, Alectra.