HOUSINGAGAIN-L Bulletin Number 1

[Cathy Nasmith <cnasmith@istar.ca>]

HOUSING AGAIN // e-bulletin
October 27, 1999 // Number 1

**********
A twice-monthly electronic bulletin on what people are doing to 
Put Housing Back on the Public Agenda.
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In this issue:

1. A new web site on housing
2. GRIM PICTURE: Where's Home, Part II
3. Municipal housing initiatives to put housing back on the public
agenda
4. FCM launches national strategy
5. KEY DATES: Mark your calendar
6. THRONE SPEECHES: Same tune from Ottawa, Queen's Park


This bulletin prints out in under two pages.

1. New web site on housing

Today's the day! The Housing  Again web site, http://www.housingagain.web.net
is being launched today, Wednesday October 27, 1999. This site will be an
important, useful and lively source of information and views on housing
and homelessness.

The site has an Ontario (Canada) focus but will include Canadian and
international resources. Sections include:

- a resource library with key articles and documents on housing issues.
- a discussion area featuring a lively exchange on current topics.
- an e-bulletin to be distributed twice every month.
- the "who's who" of housing.
- alerts and events sections with plenty of practical information.

The site's sponsor, Housing Again, has eight partners: Raising the Roof,
the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association, the Co-operative Housing
Federation of Canada - Ontario Region, Putting Housing Back on the
Public Agenda, Web Networks, Prentice Yates and Clark, Meta Strategies
and the City of Toronto Shelter Housing and Support Division. Funding
for 18 months has been provided by the Volunteer @ction Online program of
the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation.

Log on today at: http://www.housingagain.web.net

2. GRIM PICTURE: Where's Home Part II

Housing problems are growing more severe throughout Ontario, not just in
the province's biggest cities. That was the key finding from "Where's
Home"(Part I), a detailed study of housing and homelessness in eight
Ontario communities that was released in May of 1999. The study was
sponsored by the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada - Ontario
Region and the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association.

That study found that rents are rising faster than the rate of inflation
throughout Ontario, even as the real income of tenant households has
actually declined. Meanwhile, the need for more affordable housing is
rising as the supply of affordable housing is dwindling. Caught in this
squeeze, more than 300,000 tenant households in Ontario (almost
one-in-four households) are on the brink of homelessness.

Part II of "Where's Home" profiles an additional 13 communities, and
will be released on November 4 at a press conference at Queen's Park.
This study, sponsored by the Housing Again parternship, looks at a
number of additional communities: Durham, St. Catherines-Niagara,
Cornwall, Guelph, Kingston, London, Muskoka, Owen Sound, Sarnia,
Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Timmins, Windsor . The conclusions confirm that
the same kinds of problems found in larger centres are also found in
smaller ones.

The Part II study will be officially released by the three co-chairs of
Putting Housing Back on the Public Agenda, eminent individuals of all
three political persuasions. They are: Alan Redway, former
Minister of Housing in the Mulroney government (Progressive
Conservative); John Sweeney, former Minister of Housing in the Pederson
government (Liberal); and Marion Dewar, former Mayor of Ottawa (New
Democratic Party).

Full details of both Part I and Part II will be posted on the Housing
Again web site at  http://www.housingagain.web.net on the release date.

3. Municipal housing initiatives

Ottawa and Toronto are two municipalities that are putting housing back
on the public agenda again with local housing initiatives. The Regional
Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (RMOC) has launched a $1 million
Community Action Plan to end homelessness. A key part of the RMOC
initiative is ongoing advocacy to bring senior levels of government back
into the housing business.

"We are at the table with a $1 million start-up fund - now provincial
and federal partnerships in implementing the action plan will be the key to
successfully tackling this difficult problem," said Regional Chair Bob
Chiarelli, in announcing the initiative.

For more information, go to:  http://www.rmoc.on.ca/pr99/june1499.htm 

Meanwhile, the City of Toronto launched its "Let's Build" initiative
with an $11 million Capital Revolving Fund. At the same time, the city is
also releasing several city-owned sites designated for affordable housing
under Toronto's "Housing First" policy. The latest move comes on top of
previous city decisions designed to encourage new affordable rental
housing, including a rebate on development charges and changes to
property tax rates.

For more information, call the "Let's Build" info-line at 416-392-0051
or log onto the City of Toronto web site at  http://www.city.toronto.on.ca 
and follow the links.

Municiaplities are taking the lead in putting housing back on the public
agenda. Clearly, many municipal politicians refuse to take the position
that the shortage of  affordable housing is not a problem, or that
nothing can or should be done.

4. There are solutions: FCM launches national strategy

A new national housing program that would lead to the construction or
rehabilitation of 30,000 rental units annually and 40,000 rental unit
subsidies annually would cost about $2 billion each year. That's the
latest cost estimate from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM),
which has produced a comprehensive housing strategy called the National
Housing Policy Options Paper. The FCM is calling on federal and
provincial governments to work together to create more affordable
housing right across the country. The detailed paper, and the costing
estimates, are on the FCM web site at  http://www.fcm.ca 

5. KEY DATES:
The House of Commons Finance Committee is holding Pre-Budget
Consultations in six Canadian cities. This is a perfect opportunity to
tell the federal government that it must put housing back on the public
agenda, that it must put some of our tax money to work building and
supporting new affordable housing. The tentative dates for these
meetings are:

Ottawa - one or two days per week throughout November
Toronto - Nov. 8 and 9
Halifax - Nov. 15
Quebec - Nov. 16
Calgary - Nov. 22
Vancouver - Nov. 23

To make an appointment to appear before the committee, fax or phone
RIGHT AWAY:

Pat Steenberg, Clerk
House of Commons Finance Committee
Telephone : 613-992-9753
Fax : 613-996-1626

For more key dates, go to our web site http://www.housingagain.web.net 
and click on `alerts', and on `discussion'


6) THRONE SPEECHES: Same tune from Ottawa, Queen's Park

Homelessness is back on the political agenda for Canada's federal
government and Ontario's provincial government. Under Canadian
parliamentary tradition, the Speech from the Throne starts each new
legislative session. The Speech sets out the key priorities for the
government in the coming months.

In separate Speeches from the Throne opening new sessions of the
national Parliament and Ontario Legislature, very similar language was used.

Ottawa said: "The Government will continue working with its partners in
all sectors to address the root causes of homelessness and help communities
respond to their members' needs for shelter and other support."

Queen's Park said: "Each year the Ontario government spends $100 million
to help people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. However,
this is a complex issue that requires the active involvement of
municipalities and the federal government. Your government will 
continue to work co-operatively to address the needs of these vulnerable
people."

It is significant that both governments offered sympathetic comments on
homelessness. Public opinion polls in recent months have shown that
homelessness has become one of the top five concerns of Canadians.
Governments, which track polls carefully, appear anxious not to ignore
this growing public mood.


HOUSING AGAIN e-bulletin is published by the Housing Again partnership.
If you have news and views about housing, please visit the web, where
there are good opportunities to share your news and opinions with
hundred of others who are interested in housing issues.

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