Saravanamuttoo’s Container Village Plan | Calgary News

Ottawa mayoral hopeful Neil Saravanamuttoo is eyeing a bold new solution to homelessness: a shipping container village modeled after Gatineau’s successful Village Transition. He calls it a vital “temporary bridge” — not a perfect long-term fix, but far better than the status quo. The Gatineau project, launched late 2024, replaced tents with secure housing and is funded by a mix of city, provincial, and private support. Each unit costs about $75K to build, with ongoing annual costs averaging around $24,500 per resident over ten years. Saravanamuttoo hasn’t pinned down Ottawa’s exact location or funding yet, but stresses community collaboration and courage to innovate. Other candidates are weighing in — Alex Lawson says his plan will come later, Jeff Leiper focuses on non-profit housing, and Mark Sutcliffe hasn’t released his full strategy but pledged to end youth homelessness by 2030. Saravanamuttoo insists that while current efforts are valuable, they’re insufficient for Ottawa’s scale — and that tackling homelessness and addiction is key to building a safer city for all. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/2a3c395913e9580e