Alberta Blocks Federal Housing Funds Over Red Deer Dispute

0:00It's April 2nd. You're listening to Canada News today, AI-powered local news. Albert is dropping a bold move on federal housing funds, threatening to block sign-offs on any new deals until Ottawa reinstates $12 million dollars for Red Deer. The province's assisted living minister fired off a joint letter Tuesday, slamming the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation for axing the cities. Housing you celebrate a fund agreement back in January. That cancellation hit because Red Deer didn't meet a key rule on zoning changes for more units per lot. Meanwhile, Alberta Greenlit one-time boosts for Edmonton and Air Dry, but they're drawing a line, no more approvals if the feds don't flip this. Decision? And stop shifting rural cash to urban spots. Minister Nixon told reporters they're stepping into force fairy talks and won't let communities get pitted against each other. The feds fired back, saying they did plenty of outreach before pulling the plug. Get partners to follow through, and those dollars just go to other.

1:00Needy places. Nixon called it an ultimatum from Ottawa, pointing out Toronto got a $10 million cut for similar issues but kept most of its funding. Opposition leader Nahid Nenshi blasted the province for turning away free money amid deficits and growth pains, just to play politics. Talks are still long between Alberta and the feds, aiming to ramp up affordable housing without the drama, so we'll see if they hash this out or if more. Please feel the squeeze.