Minister tours new Legion, talks plan to free up federal buildings for more housing

Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development, accompanied by Sault MP Terry Sheehan, toured the new, soon-to-open Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 office and apartment complex at 96 Great Northern Rd. Wednesday.

For Hussen, it was a return visit, having announced $32.1 million in federal funding for the Legion housing project in January 2023 when he served as Minister of Housing.

Hussen was in the Sault Wednesday to promote the federal government’s 2024 budget and housing plan that aims to build 3.9 million homes by 2031.

Both Hussen and Sheehan commended Legion Branch 25 for its apartment complex, the first of its kind established by a Royal Canadian Legion branch.

“We know that the way to address both rising rents as well as rising housing prices is to build more housing supply and to do that faster and faster, and to find more ways to be creative to unlock more housing supply,” Hussen said, acknowledging Legion Branch 25 for its housing plan.

“There are opportunities for other Legion branches to look at some of their properties, Legions that are struggling, to think about how they can leverage their properties for housing,” Hussen said.

Hussen said the federal government will also be freeing up unused or underused federal government properties and buildings, including post offices, to make room for housing.

“We’ll build an inventory of all federal lands, federal buildings, post offices, all these places that are either not used or underused and we will provide that list publicly to communities, for Members of Parliament, to look at ways in which we can leverage those properties,” Hussen said.

“We have a few in the Sault and Algoma District and all of northern Ontario. That list will be coming shortly to unlock the lands. Here today (the Legion apartment building) is a perfect example of unlocking the land,” Sheehan said. 

The property at 96 Great Northern Rd. belongs to Legion Branch 25 while the apartment complex is jointly owned by Legion Branch 25 and Veterans Housing Inc., a group that includes Sam Biasucci, SalDan Developments president.

The apartment complex is a nine-storey, 108-unit accessible building with amenities for its tenants, their families and the community including a lounge and meeting rooms and a hall for dinners and ceremonies such as weddings and celebrations of life. There will be outdoor patio spaces for its tenants as well as 49 underground paid parking spaces.

The Branch 25 museum and its artifacts will also be relocated to the new site.

“Officially everyone will be in the building by the end of June," Biasucci told reporters Wednesday. "We have to move in 108 families. On the upper floors we’re pretty much 100 per cent ready. We will start welcoming the most urgent tenants, then others probably in the first week of May and continuing until we’re 100 per cent occupied. We’re 100 per cent on schedule."

Ninety per cent of the building’s tenants are 55 and older, Biasucci said.

The developer said the project is being completed within its budget.

“We have stability for the Legion for the next 100 years,” said Pierre Breckenridge, Branch 25 president, in an interview with SooToday.

The old Legion building — now demolished to make way for the new apartment building — was built in 1967 and needed repairs.

“We now will have a solid home. This building gives us stability and even potential to have revenue generated from the building that we'll be able to put back into the community and veterans’ programs," Breckenridge said.

The new building’s tenant list is now almost completely full but those wanting to have their names added to a waiting list can do so by contacting Branch 25 by email.

Preference is given to veterans, then Legion members, then the general public. 

Below is the full text of a news release regarding Hussen’s visit and the federal government’s 2024 budget:

The federal government recently delivered Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation. It is a plan to build a Canada that works better for everyone, where younger generations can get ahead, where their hard work pays off, and where they can buy a home—where everyone has a fair chance at a good middle-class life.

Today, local MP Terry Sheehan welcomed the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development, to Sault Ste. Marie to highlight Budget 2024’s investments to create more homes to ensure everyone can find an affordable place to call home in Canada. While there, the Minister also met with Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Matthew Shoemaker.

The following measures, announced in Budget 2024, will help create more houses:

• Building Homes on Public Lands with the new Public Lands for Homes Plan, the federal government will unlock 250,000 new homes by 2031, by using all tools available to convert public lands to housing (such as unused or underused office towers or parking lots), including leasing, acquiring other public lands for housing, and retaining ownership, whenever possible. 
• Building Homes on Canada Post Properties by taking steps to enable Canada Post to prioritize leasing or divestment of post office properties and lands with high potential for housing. This plan would make sure postal service is not disrupted and maintain Canada Post’s role as a “service first” organization focused on delivering the mail. 
• Building Homes on National Defence Lands by exploring the redevelopment of properties that could be suitable for both military and civilian uses, divesting 14 surplus properties with housing potential, and building and renovating housing for Canadian Armed Forces personnel on bases.

Budget 2024 is a plan to deliver fairness for every generation.

First, the budget takes bold action to build more homes. Because the best way to make home prices more affordable is to increase supply—and quickly. It lays out a strategy to unlock 3.87 million new homes by 2031. Key measures include launching the new Public Lands for Homes Plan and Canada Rental Protection Fund, enhancing the Canadian Mortgage Charter, and creating a new Canadian Renters’ Bill of Rights.

Second, it will help make life cost less. The budget builds on the government’s transformative expansion of Canada’s social safety net—$10-a-day child care, dental care for uninsured Canadians, the first phase of universal pharmacare—and advances the government’s work to lower everyday costs for Canadians. This includes helping to stabilize the cost of groceries, cracking down on junk fees, and lowering the costs of banking. Budget 2024 also makes transformative new investments, including a National School Food Program and the Canada Disability Benefit.

Third, this year’s budget will grow the economy in a way that’s shared by all. The government’s plan will increase investment, enhance productivity, and encourage innovation. It will create good-paying and meaningful jobs, keep Canada at the economic forefront, and deliver new support to empower more of our best entrepreneurs and innovators. This includes attracting more investment in the net-zero economy by expanding and delivering the major economic investment tax credits, securing Canada’s advantage as a leader in artificial intelligence, and investing in enhanced research grants that will provide younger generations with good jobs and new opportunities. And it means ensuring Indigenous Peoples share in this growth in a way that works for them.

Budget 2024 will also make Canada’s tax system fairer by asking the wealthiest to pay a bit more—so that the government can invest in prosperity for every generation, and because it would be irresponsible and unfair to pass on more debt to the next generations. Budget 2024 is a responsible economic plan that upholds the fiscal objectives outlined in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement, and sees Canada maintain the lowest deficit- and net debt-to-GDP ratios in the G7.