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
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.