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Youth advocacy group disappointed with federal housing investment

File photo. The 2018-19 budget comes with many initiatives, but a youth advocate feels the housing announcement was disappointing. Blair Gable/Reuters

The federal Liberal Government has unveiled its budget for 2018-19, and housing is one of many investments included.

Paul Kershaw with Generation Squeeze said $1 billion dollars annually towards a national housing strategy is disappointing.

Even if $40 billion over 10 years was promised last year.

READ MORE: B.C. government looking for federal budget money for public safety, transit

“The national housing strategy is relatively modest in terms of new spending. By comparison, old age security is going to up by $16 billion a year in annual spending, [and] the national housing strategy got $1 billion. Pretty much all in one year, the old age security will spend what will take 10 years to do for the national housing strategy.”

Four-hundred-and-forty-seven million dollars of that $1 billion invested will go towards support for new rental construction.

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Kershaw said it’s disappointing.

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“That is being spread out across the entire country. We’re seeing markedly higher investments made by the provincial government in B.C. alone, which represents just about 13 per cent of the population. So you would want to see many times more of an investment at a national level.”

The federal budget comes with a $18.1 billion dollar deficit, and includes initiatives for gender equality, new parental supports, and anti-harassment.

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