Sault Ste. Marie exploring housing shortage solutions
The City of Sault Ste. Marie is exploring ways to increase housing supply in the city in an effort to bring down costs.
Staff are studying a pair of ideas put forward by city council.
Sault Ste. Marie city coun. Angela Caputo. March 28/23 (Mike McDonald/CTV Northern Ontario)
One of those ideas is a vacant property tax, which was brought to the table by Coun. Angela Caputo, who sits on the newly formed Affordable Housing Task Force.
Caputo said it was the sight of boarded-up houses that prompted her to bring the idea forward.
"I just wanted to put something forward to try and give a little nudge to the property owners to open these homes up," she said.
"A lot of our residents really need a place to live and affordable housing is definitely one of the most important things that we're discussing right now."
Another idea being looked at is a grant program for non-profit organizations and churches that have underutilized land that could be used for affordable housing.
This model is used by the City of Barrie and Sault city staff are looking into whether this idea can be put into practice in the north.
The 'Affordable Housing Task Force' is preparing a feasibility study for the grant program and the vacant property tax and will report to city council at a later date.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.