Sept/Oct 2015 Housing Announcements
September and October was an exciting time for action on affordable housing in our city. As Toronto's Housing Advocate I have had the opportunity to participate in a variety of different housing related announcements and activities ranging from announcing new public investments and partnerships in Toronto Community Housing to calling on our federal political parties to make affordable housing commitments. I have included a snapshot of some of the activities I took part in during the past two months.
TCH TAF TowerWise Retrofit Announcement
On Tuesday September 22 I had the pleasure in announcing the TowerWise Retrofit Project – a partnership between the Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF) and Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCH). TAF is investing $4.2 million to implement energy efficiency upgrades in seven TCH buildings across Toronto. This project will help create local jobs, improve the environment, reduce carbon emissions, save TCH money, and improve the health and comfort of TCH residents. Supporting this partnership is one example of how the City is working hard to improve the quality of life for TCH residents. With further investment from all levels of government, I sincerely hope that we can make these types of projects a reality in all TCH buildings across Toronto.
Big City Mayors' Caucus Meeting
In late September, Toronto hosted a meeting of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Big City Mayors' Caucus to specifically discuss the issue of affordable housing. The Mayors of Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, London, Kitchener, and Halifax came together and urged all federal political party leaders to play a leadership role on the issue. Affordable housing is an issue that is directly related to the issue that all federal political leaders have decided to focus on during this election campaign: the economy and jobs. I was honoured to participate in their meeting, tour the YWCA's Elm Centre and kick off the press conference. Hopefully following October 19, our federal government will have a renewed focus and energy on this very important issue.
TCH ReSet Announcement
On September 25 I had the pleasure of helping to announce the launch of ReSet, an innovative approach to capital repairs being piloted in three TCH communities with nearly 900 households. The ReSet program will bundle multiple capital repair jobs in each community and deliver them as one project, resulting in cost savings, faster repairs and safer communities. I am excited that the ReSet program will engage Toronto Community Housing residents while providing quicker, less disruptive and significant capital repairs to their communities. With new investment from the provincial and federal governments, I am confident that we can make the ReSet program a reality in Toronto Community Housing buildings across Toronto. To find out more about this program please click here.
World Habitat Day
The first Monday in October is World Habitat Day and I had the opportunity to read the Mayoral proclamation on behalf of Mayor Tory.
"World Habitat Day is a time to reflect on the state of our cities and towns, emphasize everyone's right to adequate shelter and to remind the world that we all have the power and a responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns.
This year's theme, "Public Spaces for All," sheds light on the importance of providing public spaces that enhance community cohesion and promote health, happiness, and the well-being of all citizens.
The City of Toronto's affordable housing and homelessness initiatives are guided by Toronto's Affordable Housing Action Plan, 2010–2020. It is a plan that helps to affirm the City's commitment to continue working with its partners to address housing needs.
This year, with the assistance of the federal and provincial governments and private and non-profit groups, the City of Toronto is opening 217 affordable rental and ownership homes, while assisting more than 2,500 residents with home repairs."
Lawrence Heights Announcement
Earlier this week, I joined my colleagues Mayor John Tory and Councillor Josh Colle in announcing that phase one of the Lawrence Heights Revitalization project will be getting underway. Prior to the announcement I had the pleasure of meeting with some local residents to discuss life in Lawrence Heights, the revitalization, and their future hopes and dreams. I strongly believe that everyone in our city deserves a secure home where they can build their dreams and enjoy a better life and this partnership will help deliver real results for residents in the vibrant Lawrence Heights community with new, clean, safe, and affordable homes. I am particularly excited by the creation of local employment opportunities and scholarships for residents in Lawrence Heights as part of the revitalization. To find out more about the project please read this backgrounder.
Housing Survey of Federal Candidates Released
October 13, 2015
Housing survey of federal candidates released by
Close the Housing Gap campaign co-chair
Results of a housing survey of election candidates in Toronto's 25 federal ridings have been released by Close the Housing Gap campaign Co-chair Councillor Ana Bailão (Ward 18 Davenport) and Toronto's Housing Advocate.
The three-question survey was sent to 100 Conservative, Green, Liberal and New Democrat candidates. Some 20 individual responses from 14 ridings came back: 10 Liberal, six Green and four New Democrat. There were no responses from Conservative candidates.
In addition, the Liberal and New Democratic parties sent responses on behalf of all of their Toronto candidates. Combined with the individual replies, this represents a response rate of 56%.
All the responses can be found at: http://www.putpeoplefirst.ca
"The people of Toronto expect long-term financial commitments from their governments to maintain our social housing communities, create new affordable homes and repair social housing," said Bailão. "These responses can help them decide which party meets that test."
Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.
- 30 -
Media contact: Robert Cerjanec; Councillor Bailão's Office; 416-338-5274; [email protected]
Affordable Housing Infographics
Our city is in an affordable housing crisis. One in five households are paying more than half their income on rent. This federal election can be a turning point for a renewed federal role in affordable housing – a role that the federal government used to play proudly.
We know that there is a strong business case for the provincial and federal governments to invest in TCH units and prevent the closure of 7,582 units by 2023. We know that if there are more affordable rental and home ownership opportunities for Torontonians, we can create a solid foundation for hundreds of thousands of people.
The City is doing what it can with the powers that we have to address this pressing need. We have committed to fund a fair one thirds share of TCH's 10-year capital plan. Mayor Tory and I announced the Open Door Program earlier this year and the first results are currently before City Council with 82 new affordable units proposed to be built on the City's 200 Madison Ave site. Work is currently underway to identify even more opportunities to build affordable housing.
I also believe that we have a moral obligation to ensure that our most vulnerable Torontonians have a safe and decent place to call home.
There are 93,515 households on the affordable housing waitlist in the City of Toronto alone. 40% of those households include children under 17 years of age. Another 34% of those households are seniors. If we fail to act now, we will be letting generations of our children and seniors down.
As a way to raise awareness, my office has developed a series of affordable housing related infographics based on publicly available facts and figures. I am encouraging you to utilize these infographics in any way you feel necessary to advance our City's affordable housing needs through social media.
You can download these easy to share jpeg images by clicking here.
Close the Housing Gap Rally
We hosted a packed house at Toronto City Council Chambers on Tuesday, April 28th for our Close the Housing Gap Rally. In fact, we saw such a phenomenal turnout from Torontonians who support affordable housing that more than 50 people watched in an overflow room as the event got under way. The energy throughout City Hall was phenomenal!
As Campaign Co-Chair and the City's Affordable Housing Advocate, I had the honour of welcoming everyone and facilitating the forum. I used this opportunity to emphasize that Ottawa and Queen's Park have a duty to pay their fair share of social housing repairs, they have a duty to support co-op housing for the long-term and they have a duty to create a housing strategy with a stable, long-term commitment to increased funding. 
Now is the time to redouble our efforts in the lead up to this fall's Federal election and to keep pushing for change until the Federal and Provincial Governments provide their fair share for social and affordable housing.
Those messages were driven home and enhanced by the remarks from Deputy Mayor Pam McConnell who is responsible for Toronto's Poverty Reduction Strategy, as well as from Bud Purves who Co-Chairs the Campaign and also serves as Chair of TCHC. The energy in the room was brought to a crescendo when Tom Clement from the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto had everyone clapping and cheering so loudly that I'm sure the message reached all the way to Ottawa!
The speakers that followed from tenant organizations like Atahualpa Co-op's Nichole Waldron, TCHC resident Susan Gapka and long-time advocate Doris Power sent strong and heartfelt messages from the grassroots. Remarks followed from approximately a dozen audience members and we closed the event with a call to action. Event participants and everyone listening to this growing conversation were encouraged to go and speak to friends, family, their Member of Provincial Parliament and Member of Parliament.
Let's put people first and close the housing gap!
Sign the Close the Housing Gap petition
Close the Housing Gap Campaign website
Contact your MPP and MP
Watch our Close the Housing Gap Campaign video
Fixing Toronto’s broken public housing system would help us all: Toronto Star Editorial
A report on the crushing repair backlog at Toronto Community Housing shows that fixing it would generate thousands of jobs and billions of tax dollars.
Making people’s lives better by giving them decent shelter should be reason enough to ease the crushing repair backlog at Toronto Community Housing. But many low-income families have remained stuck in crime-infested public housing for years, enduring leaking roofs, rats, cockroaches, bed bugs, rusted pipes and bad wiring. To our society’s shame, the moral argument for fixing this mess simply hasn’t been enough.
Now a convincing new case is being put forward: Repairing Toronto’s dilapidated public housing stock isn’t just good social policy — it’s good business, too.
A comprehensive study by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis shows that doing the right thing would create thousands of jobs, spur private investment, and generate billions of extra dollars in federal and provincial taxes. That adds up to a compelling argument for increased support from Ottawa and Queen’s Park.
If upper governments won’t respond to basic human need, perhaps they’ll act in their own self-interest. Toronto Mayor John Tory (open John Tory's policard) is intent on making a “moral and business case” for more federal and provincial funding, and rightly so.
“The economic and social benefits of increased investment are significant and far-reaching,” Tory said on Monday. And so is the harm that would result if nothing is done and social housing is allowed to deteriorate.
Today, about 36 per cent of the Toronto Community Housing Corp.’s massive residential portfolio is considered to be in poor or critical condition. Without an investment in repairing these homes, more than 90 per cent of the corporation’s units will be in a poor or critical state by 2023, or shut down due to unsafe conditions, according to the authors of the report.
The toll of such a dereliction of public duty would include higher health care costs, rising crime and immeasurable human suffering.
Federal officials are quick to note that they do pass money to the provincial level which could be channeled into public housing. And Queen’s Park insists it has spent more than $4 billion on affordable housing across Ontario since 2003. Just this week itannounced $587 million for municipalities to ward off homelessness by helping people deemed at risk find accommodation suited to their needs.
It’s not as if nothing has been done to help poor people in need of shelter. But the plain fact is there’s a lot more to do to ward off a crisis looming in Toronto Public Housing.
City council has approved a 10-year, $2.6-billion capital repair plan, with one-third of that money to come from the municipal level. Ottawa and Queen’s Park are each being asked to contribute an equal share of $864 million. It is imperative that they do so.
Coupled with projects already underway, such as the revitalization of Regent Park, this investment would produce $4.5 billion in additional tax revenue for the federal and provincial governments. According to the independent consultant’s report, commissioned by the housing corporation, it would also generate 220,000 person years of employment as new jobs are created to support renovation work.
Businesses would thrive and, counting spin-off effects, the overall economy would benefit from as much as an $18-billion increase in GDP over 30 years.
Some serious ills would — quite literally — be avoided. According to the study, better housing conditions would prevent about 544,000 instances of resident sickness, easing pressure on Ontario’s already over-burdened healthcare system.
Installing modern heating systems and other efficiencies is projected to shave 10 per cent from the system’s average utility cost per unit. And a troubling increase in poverty-inspired crime would be warded off.
Even if some benefit projections listed in the study prove over-optimistic, there’s enough evidence to show that substantial new funding from Ottawa and Queen’s Park must not be regarded as just money gone down a public housing drain. On the contrary, such spending is a logical investment in social infrastructure capable of generating reasonable returns.
That makes it well worth pursing. Providing people with an acceptable place to live doesn’t just help the poor; it helps us all.
[This Toronto Star Editorial originally posted here]
