September 18, 2014
Students Learn Valuable Job Skills while Building Affordable Homes for Families in Cranberry Portage: Minister Bjornson
CRANBERRY PORTAGE—A new carpentry program at Frontier Collegiate Institute in Cranberry Portage will create more affordable housing for families and teach students valuable skills that will help them land good jobs upon graduation, Housing and Community Development Minister Peter Bjornson announced here today.
“We are increasing opportunities for students to gain needed work skills and help build their future close to home in Manitoba,” said Minister Bjornson. “We are committed to continuing this partnership with the Frontier School Division, which has already created more affordable housing for families in Cranberry Portage.”
Frontier Collegiate Institute offers the adult carpentry program through the Northern Technical Centre (NTC). Students in the program work toward their Level 1 carpentry apprenticeship while completing regular courses needed to graduate from high school.
As part of Frontier School Division’s Ready-to-Move (RTM) project, Manitoba Housing and Community Development provided support for students at the NTC in Cranberry Portage to build two ready-to-move homes. The students, along with their instructors, also constructed the basements for the three-bedroom family homes, located on Lake Trout Bay in the community.
The project cost is about $484,000 and the new homes will be managed by Manitoba Housing and Community Development, from The Pas District Office, the minister said. The homes will be rented to families with low to moderate incomes and on a rent-geared-to-income basis, and the families are expected to begin moving in Nov. 1.
“Frontier Collegiate Institute has been providing quality educational opportunities for students in over 30 communities in northern Manitoba for almost 50 years,” said Ray Derksen, chief superintendent, Frontier School Division. “We are pleased the Manitoba government chose to invest in this unique program.”
The province has reached its five-year goal to provide funding commitments to build 1,500 new units of affordable housing and establish 1,500 social-housing units throughout the province, Minister Bjornson said, adding the units in Cranberry Portage are part of this commitment. These investments also complement Budget 2014, a plan to create good jobs, grow the economy and protect front-line services for families by focusing on what matters most to Manitoba families, he said.
More information on Manitoba Housing and Community Development’s three-year plan, part of the long-term strategy Strong Communities – An Action Plan is available at www.gov.mb.ca/housing/.
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