HOUSINGAGAIN-L Housing Again Bulletin No. 30

[Catherine Nasmith <cnasmith@sympatico.ca>]

HOUSING AGAIN  - Bulletin Number 30
April 2, 2001

A twice-monthly electronic bulletin published on what people are doing
to put housing back on the public agenda in Ontario, across Canada and
around the world. Our web site is http://www.housingagain.web.net 

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In this issue: 
1. Affordable Housing report expected to go to federal cabinet next
month  
2. Toronto takes first step toward "revolutionary" housing experiment. 
3. Housing Advocates gear up to lobby Toronto Catholic School Board
4. Peel Region releases first homelessness report card 
5. New in Alerts
6. New in Resources

1. Affordable Housing report expected to go to federal cabinet next
month 

Lobbyists have successfully created a furor over the need for an
upcoming federal housing grants program to address the needs of
low-income people. 

The proposal, to provide capital grants for housing on a cost-sharing
basis with the provinces, is in the works at the federal government
level. The government came forward with a proposal last summer though
there is not a yet a set amount. Discussions and debates have been
ongoing about the appropriate amount to make this housing affordable,
according to Sharon Chisholm, executive director of the Canadian Housing
and Renewal Association (CHRA), who has been heavily involved in
lobbying the government on behalf of low income households.

"We have a sense that we've been successful in letting them know their
numbers are not realistic," she said. "Our last real focus has been on
the fact that what they appear to be promoting is not going to address
people in low income households and weíve certainly created a real furor
around that issue."

Chisholm said she doesn't know for sure how, or even if, the government
will address the issue but she does know affordable housing advocates
like herself have at least been heard. She personally was invited to
present to MP John Godfrey's Social Affairs Committee and has met
individually with many other MPs. 

The CHRA has put forward three reports outlining principles it feels are
central to an effective affordable housing partnership program. The most
recent of these, published March 23, outlines the questions that the
CHRA feels remain unresolved. 

These include: 
an assurance that rents will be low enough for households that can't
afford market rents; 
measures to ensure that community groups participate in the initiative; 
a guarantee that if the private sector builds and owns the housing that
it will remain affordable; 
a method for the program to still address needs in provinces or
territories that don't agree to cost-share; 
a method to facilitate contributions and participation from
municipalities; 
and a consideration to rehabilitate existing housing in communities like
Winnipeg and Montreal. 

The report asserts that the program should not merely be aimed at
increasing housing supply but address the need for healthy urban
environments. Specific examples of how the lack of affordable housing
directly affects the economy include:
Charlotte County NB where some employers are having trouble attracting
new workers because of lack of housing choice. Municipalities affected
include the Town of St. George and the Village of Blacks Harbour. 
Brandon Manitoba where the rapid expansion of the Maple Leaf processing
plant is attracting new young workers who can't find affordable housing. 

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2. Toronto takes first step toward a revolutionary housing experiment

Residents of the unplanned Toronto lakeshore community Tent City,
supported by activists and concerned citizens, have successfully
convinced Toronto city council to take the first step in embracing the
community they've created and help them build transitional housing.

"In four years of fighting homelessness, finally I am seeing this, a
first success," said Karl Schmidt, a Tent City resident for almost one
year. "It is very surprising and inspiring that people can still help
each other. In the long run it will be like a circle, it will come back
again." 

Toronto's Community Services Committee passed a proposal to go ahead
with an experimental public/private partnership to build a community of
low-cost, expandable houses. The homes would be pre-engineered and
designed by Viceroy, famous for its cottages. (for background see "Third
World Lessons for Canadians" in Bulletin no. 26) John Van Nostrand, of
Architects Alliance has worked out an incremental program that he
estimates will cost $30,000 per unit, a sum that can be carried over 10
years on the housing portion of a welfare cheque and includes soil
remediation, building, support and operating costs. The homes would
start out at about 200 square feet and residents would be able to expand
the units as they earn income. 

A staff report for the Community Services Committee published on March
21, recommended that the city move ahead with the project. Within one
week of that report being published, community members raised $200,000
in loans from at least four private investors. Under the plan, residents
would pay property taxes and the city is not expected to incur any major
net costs.  

The detail that still has to be worked out is where the city, or
investors, will find land to build. Van Nostrand said the proposal is
not dependant on the city donating land, but if the group has to buy
land, it will likely increase the cost of the houses to about $40,000
per unit. 

City councillors, activists and residents alike are excited by the fact
that this would be the first community of its type in North America. The
idea of erecting low cost, pre-fabricated houses that can be expanded as
residents deal with issues that keep them economically marginalized is a
common solution in developing countries and was used for troops who came
home from the Second World War. 

This solution is a creative way to address a housing crisis in Toronto
that has only become worse after the provincial government's assertion
that private developers would create abundant, affordable housing once
rent controls and government intervention were abandoned did not come
true. According to 1998 stats from the Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation, carrying a mortgage plus taxes and other costs on an
average starter home in Toronto takes a minimum household income of
$65,000. This means 65 per cent of the city's families cannot afford to
buy a house.  

One of the biggest hurdles that residents and activists will have to
overcome is the continual question, posed by city officials and media
alike, about how this community will be different than a "ghetto" for
homeless people. Answers include the stipulation that the community will
have to be carefully planned and supported, maybe with an eye to mixing
the dwellings with homes for people with more income. The fact that Tent
City has functioned as a community already for almost two years also
proves this plan has potential. Members of the St. Lawrence Residents'
Association, whose catchement area includes the lakeshore location where
Tent City is currently located, have indicated a willingness to embrace
their new neighbours. 

Although the Tent City representatives embraced the victory, they will
have to deal with many issues in making their community more permanent. 

Rainer Driemeyer, who is known as Dri, pointed out that some Tent City
residents are resistant to the idea of going on welfare and carrying a
mortgage for a permanent home. He said the proposal is straying from the
original idea of erecting temporary warm shelters for winter relief.
These are issues to be confronted by the group though, as Dri said in
subsequent interviews that he would be proud to be one of the first
residents of a permanent community. 

Another Tent City resident Patrick Lepage, said he thinks the community
will work after living in it for nine months and hopes that it will
become an example for other cities who are looking for creative
solutions to deal with their homeless population. 

The Community Services committee plans to present the plan to city
council when it meets in a month.

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3. Housing Advocates gear up to lobby Toronto Catholic School Board

A new Catholic School Board development charge will affect new
affordable housing initiatives in Toronto. The by-law that was passed
March 22 means that people who build  new residential units will have to
pay the board $1,236 per unit. A motion to have non-profit rental
housing units exempted was defeated by a narrow vote of 6-5. Two
trustees voted against the new charge completely. 

Joe Ruscitti, supervisor of planning and facilities at the Catholic
School Board said the province's Education Act and the Ontario
regulation that governs how education development charges work, do not
permit the school board to differentiate between different types of
housing units. But he said the development charge by-law passed by the
school board expires in one year, allowing trustees to re-visit the
situation and address issues from affordable housing advocates and the
rest of the development industry. 

"If the legislation were changed by the province, then the board would
probably re-consider the issue but right now our hands are tied," he
said. 

The city of Toronto has exempted affordable housing projects from all
development charges, building permit fees and other such levies. 

Groups like the Sisters of St. Joseph, who are involved in housing
projects are mobilizing to go the board at the next meeting, April 10 at
7 p.m. to plead that the board push for an exemption for affordable
housing projects.

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4. Peel Region releases first homelessness report card 
Peel, region located in the 905 area outside of Toronto, which includes
Mississauga, has further dispelled the myth that homelessness is an
urban problem by releasing its first report card on homelessness. The
report shows that 93 people a month were admitted to Peel shelters last
year and that homeless people were staying 30 per cent longer in
shelters than the previous year because they had nowhere to go. 

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5. New in Alerts
A lack of decent and affordable housing threatens the goals of the
National Children's Agenda, according to a new discussion paper put out
by the Family Network of the Canadian Policy Research Networks-For more
information visit: 
http://alerts.web.net/show.cfm?id=2472&APP=housing 

For the latest in information on housing or to post your press release,
visit Housing Again Alerts
http://alerts.web.net/index.cfm?app=housing

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6. New in Resources
A research report documenting the housing concerns of women who live in
low incomes in Victoria, Regina and Saint John has been released. The
report proposes housing policy options for policy-makers to consider. 

For more information visit:
http://resources.web.net/show.cfm?id=1006&APP=housing
http://resources.web.net/show.cfm?id=1006&APP=housing.

To access Resources:
http://resouces.web.net/index.cfm?app=housing