The Ontario government chose the region with the lowest supply of social housing for its population in the province to announce that the community housing system is being revamped and getting a boost of more than $1 billion to “sustain, repair and grow” and help end homelessness.
“Right now, there are too many families living in places that are overcrowded and rundown. And some of them just aren’t safe. Across the province, there’s a shortage of good community housing for those who need it most and York Region is not immune,” Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark said this morning at the Newmarket Old Town Hall in announcing the Community Housing Renewal Strategy, with Newmarket-Aurora MPP Christine Elliott, his parliamentary assistant, Christine Hogarth, and Newmarket Mayor John Taylor.
“In fact, it has the lowest supply of social housing compared to its population in the province. There are only 17 units available for every 1,000 households. The region’s wait list is well over 13,000 — double what it was seven years ago,” said Clark.
The 2019-20 funding, which will be provided directly to communities, will help repair some of the “crumbling walls, leaking roofs and broken elevators" found in much of the province’s aging housing stock, he added.
More than a quarter of a million Ontarians are living in community housing provided by non-profit, co-operative and municipal housing agencies. It includes a range of programs from subsidized social and affordable housing, such as housing for Indigenous people, rent supplements and portable housing benefits that help people find housing in the private market.
“Much of Ontario’s community housing was built a long time ago and many of the original funding agreements that support them will soon be coming to an end. And when that happens, we risk losing some of the housing that people are relying on. If nothing is done, there is the possibility that over 106,000 units could be lost in less than 10 years,” Clark said.
As well as the funding initiative, the Ford government is streamlining the current “fragmented and inefficient system” that is plagued by overcrowding and long waitlists.
“The Community Housing Renewal Strategy meets people’s complex and changing needs,” Clark said in highlighting some of the changes to the legislation and regulations.
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor welcomed the new strategy, saying it addresses concerns about how waitlists are administered and inefficiencies in the current system.
“Applicants will have greater ability to advance their income and well-being without being penalized. And we’re talking about people who are constantly struggling to make ends meet and are looking for opportunities to improve their lives and there shouldn’t be barriers in the way of doing that,” said Taylor, who is also Chair of Housing York.
York Region funds and administers more than 6,700 social housing units owned and managed by Housing York and other community housing providers.
“The changes to the system (will) also allow us to ensure that those who need housing the most are more likely to receive it. This is something we struggle with.”
However, unlike some of the community housing buildings in the province, Housing York buildings have been well maintained, Taylor said.
“So we look forward to ensuring that we partner with you in growing our portfolio because we have done a very good job of sustaining and maintaining it and we’re very proud of the condition of our facilities and the environments that our residents live in.
“I know there will be a lot of demand for these dollars, but with 1.2 million people and growing, and a significant waitlist, our emphasis now is not on repairing as much but on growing, so we look forward to those conversations, as well.”
“This money will go directly to the communities and much of it is flexible, so that it can be invested in solutions that best meet local needs,” Clark emphasized.
He added that the province is taking full advantage of available federal funding.
“We’re leveraging every single federal dollar that is available to us by cost matching the federal national housing strategy investments,” he said to applause from the community housing providers attending the announcement.
He called on the federal government to “invest their fair share”, stating that from 2014 to 2018, Ontario contributed 57 per cent in total funding for housing and homelessness, compared to 17 per cent by the federal government.
During the same time period, the province provided 99 per cent of funding for supportive housing, which helps people with mental health and addictions, developmental disabilities and seniors, he said.
The “transformative” announcement for community housing fills “a space sorely neglected” by the previous Liberal government, Newmarket-Aurora MPP and Deputy Premier Christine Elliott said.
“The housing crisis is something that is faced by people across the province, not just in downtown Toronto,” Elliott said. “There is a shortage of community housing across Ontario, including in York Region.”
Clark acknowledged further initiatives are required to address the province’s affordable housing crisis.
“I’m being realistic, there will have to be other measures that we’ll have to move forward on as a government in the fall. There’s not one thing that I can table in the Legislature and have everybody pat me on the back and say that I’ve solved the housing crisis — that’s not going to happen. So, it’s a continual focus on what we can do to make it happen.”
He added the government will be making an announcement regarding supportive housing “in the near future".
Other changes in the province's new Community Housing Renewal Strategy include:
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Encouraging tenants to seek opportunities at school and work by removing existing penalties for working more hours or going to college or university;
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Making rent more predictable by simplifying rent calculations;
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Freeing up the waitlist by having tenants prioritize their first choice and accept the first unit they are offered, while allowing Service Managers flexibility to make exceptions in extenuating circumstances;
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Protecting tenants who receive child support payments by ensuring their rent is not impacted by payments;
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Making housing available to those who truly need it by requiring an asset test; and
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Making housing safer by empowering housing providers to turn away tenants who have been evicted for criminal activity.
