Affordable housing still a concern in New Brunswick with 10,000 people on the waitlist

10,000 people on N.B.'s public housing waitlist New Brunswick is promising an injection of public housing units, as the number of people on the wait list hovers around 10,000.

With 10,000 people on the province's housing waitlist, it's clear that affordable living isn't coming this year.

"We got to get things going,” said Warren Maddox, executive director of The Shelters. “The line I've been using a lot is less consulting and more building.”

According to the strategy, $22 million will go towards 3,000 subsidized housing waitlist households to remain affordably housed, and immediately decrease the subsidized housing waitlist.

"That's why I'm so excited about the direct to tenant benefit that's going to be starting in January,” said New Brunswick Minister of Housing Jill Green.

But measures from the province's strategy are already falling behind.

"There are some things that aren't just quite hitting the mark yet,” Green said.

“One of the things is building the new housing units. I'm pleased to say we have 44 units under construction right now and we have 90 units planned for next spring,” she said.

Those new 90 units will be dispersed throughout the province but with six months since the strategy was released an affordable housing advocacy groups says help is not coming soon enough.

"We have talked to so many people who have told us if they get another rent increase or ‘reno-viction’ that they fear they're going to be on the street, they're going to be homeless,” said Nichola Taylor with ACORN NB.

"It really comes down to we just have to build, its housing options that we look at so it's not all one bedroom apartments,” Maddox said.

The province is planning on 294 units over the next few years, according to Green.

Green said there will be a report released next week on the 22 housing strategies the government devised back in June.

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