To help deal with the housing challenges that New Brunswick is facing, a new Crown corporation has been created by the provincial government.
Jill Green, minister responsible for housing, said the new entity brings existing staff together from various departments working on housing programs.
“We’re all working on the housing file, bringing them together under one roof and it’s really making one plus one plus one equal five. We will have some horsepower behind solving the housing crisis in New Brunswick.”
Green said about 100 existing employees will be part of the new corporation and 15 new positions will be created.
Green was unable to provide details on the budget for the new entity when she made the announcement on Thursday during a briefing livestreamed on YouTube.
“The financial piece and all the details around the executive team will be released as we move forward. I’ll be transparent all the way through and I’ll share it as more information is available.”
Once fully implemented, the new corporation will have three primary responsibilities:
- Strategy and Stakeholder Relations, including overseeing financial housing programs and the development, implementation, and evaluation of a housing strategy.
- Property Management, responsible for the creation and maintenance of provincial housing facilities and administration of leasing agreements with landlords.
- The Residential Tenancies Tribunal responsible for answering questions related to renting, mediating disputes between landlords and tenants and ensuring regulations under the Residential Tenancies Act are followed.
Several legislative changes are required before the new corporation can be fully operational.
Green said these changes will be introduced in the spring legislative session and will be finalized with Royal Assent in June.
“There is still work to do,” said Green.
“We are working diligently to finalize the details and hope to have more information to share during the housing summit in May.”
