Federal withdrawal results in loss of social housing

Manitoba is losing subsidized rental housing units -- a delayed result of the federal government's withdrawal from funding social housing in the 1990s. As operating agreements between the federal government and housing providers expire, the subsidies expire with them. As a result, nonprofit housing organizations and housing cooperatives are having to make tough decisions. Many subsidized units have already been lost; many more are likely to be lost in the next two decades.

In the 1960s -1980s, thousands of units of social housing were built in Manitoba, the number of new builds dropped off in the 1990s. The federal government entered into long-term social housing operating agreements with provincial governments, nonprofit housing providers and cooperatives. These operating agreements have provided subsidies that reduced tenants' rents and laid out terms for how the housing would be managed, including details about reserve funds, subsidies and eligibility requirements for the subsidized units. In most cases these agreements were set for the term of the mortgage, usually 35-50 years.

Low-income social housing residents anxious as Ottawa ends subsidies

Christine Crawford is a poet and seamstress who suffers from chronic, debilitating asthma. For more than a decade, her sunny apartment in Ottawa’s Sandy Hill Co-op has been her treasured oasis.

Yet Crawford faces an uncertain future that’s weighing on her this Christmas. In less than two years, Crawford could face the terrifying prospect of homelessness if the federal government fails to heed calls to work with provinces and territories to maintain social housing funding.

Rob Ford’s tax cut will hurt social housing, critics say

Rob Ford is sticking to his promise to slash taxes next year, even though not doing so could help offset provincial cuts set to hit Toronto’s poorer residents.

Last week Queen’s Park announced it is phasing out a $150-million grant that the city has been using to pay for social housing. The funding will be completely eliminated by 2016 but will be reduced by about $50 million next year, putting substantial pressure on Toronto’s already underfunded housing programs.

BC's Real Social Housing Numbers

One of the more contentious issues regarding the B.C. government's record concerns the issue of social housing. To hear Minister Rich Coleman tell it, B.C.'s record has been above and beyond. For the last few years, barely a week has gone by without a government news release (sometimes multiple per week) trumpeting a new housing initiative.

Yet many housing and homelessness activists insist the need for low income housing outstrips new supply, and even the most astute observers of the housing file find it difficult to determine which government announcements are new and which are recycled; which deal with actual new housing, and which merely capture conversions of one kind of housing into another. Much of the time, tracking the housing file feels akin to watching a talented sidewalk magician asking us to follow which shell has the ball.

Toronto Mayor reassessing plan to sell off social housing units

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is re-evaluating a plan to liquidate 740 social housing units, a significant rethink that will see him working closely with councillors who have largely abandoned his agenda of late.

Mr. Ford’s executive committee was scheduled to debate the wholesale selloff on Monday, but the city gave word late Friday it will now be punted to next Friday due to the volume of deputants – more than 100 – who signed up to speak.

But behind the scenes, Mr. Ford has been consulting Councillor Ana Bailao, chair of the Affordable Housing Committee. The two may broker a compromise that would address Toronto Community Housing’s mammoth $750-million repair backlog without shrinking the agency’s portfolio so drastically.

“I just had a very good chat with the mayor,” said Ms. Bailao, who did not provide details of the revised plan. “We agreed there’s a huge problem. And that we need a better strategy. He’s extremely passionate about these issues and understands we need to do more.”

The new plan is in its early stages. Sources say it would call for the sale of just 56 units, all of which are vacant. It would also recommend a special task force to formulate new financing schemes to raise money for a more permanent fix. The repair backlog is projected to reach $1-billion within two years.

Mr. Ford, who pays regular visits to TCHC buildings, now sees the $222-million yield from the selloff as insufficient considering the grief it will cause. Some of his opponents on council believe he has simply realized the selloff would not pass an emboldened council that has shown increasing resistance to the mayor’s agenda.

“There’s a feeling that selling off everything is not the best option,” Ms. Bailao said. “I think we’re now headed in the right direction.”

Original Article
Source: Globe 
Author: Patrick White