HOUSINGAGAIN-L Housing Again Bulletin No. 35

[Catherine Nasmith <cnasmith@sympatico.ca>]

HOUSING AGAIN - Bulletin Number 35
June 15, 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. If
you have any tips for the Bulletin please e-mail: cnasmith@sympatico.ca

1. Seniors fight for housing 
2. The housing crisis in Antigonish 
3.   British Columbians await verdict on housing:
3. Poor housing conditions drive tenants north
 
******

1. Seniors fight for housing

Seniors groups across the country are spearheading initiatives to
alleviate the national housing crisis that has hit the over-50
population hard. 

The Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP), which represents
400,000 members, is making housing the centre of its lobbying efforts
over the next sixth months. The crisis was spotlighted in the
association’s recent issue of its by-monthly glossy, CARPNews/Fifty
Plus—which highlights some particularly jarring statistics: Toronto’s
Daily Bread Food Bank reports a six per cent increase in the number of
seniors asking for food over the last five years (those same food-bank
users were spending 54 per cent of their income on rent); that half the
people on waiting list for housing in Nova Scotia are seniors.

"This is an issue of quality of life and survival," says CARP executive
director Lillian Morgenthau. "Let’s look at the reality and the reality
is if we don’t start making housing, people will be on the street who
are 60 and over." 

Indeed, many seniors living in Toronto are perhaps most negatively
affected by the leveling of rental housing buildings in north Toronto to
make room for posh new condominiums. And when there are fewer rental
apartments, the rents tend to increase —even though seniors’ pension
benefits remain static.

"Many seniors are millimeters away from homelessness," says Maureen
McEwan, a board member of People and Organizations in North Toronto
(P.O.I.N.T.). The organization is planning a symposium on the housing
dilemma this summer, in which various organizations will discuss ways to
assist those who are displaced by condo developments. 

The association is also reviewing the possibility of establishing a
housing registry for seniors so that the 50-plus population will be able
to access information regarding available housing and tenants’ rights. 

"We believe that one of the main problems is that many seniors live in a
very isolated way. A lot of them are cut off and have no family," says
P.O.I.N.T. chair Neil Campbell. 

But P.O.I.N.T.s’ main focus over the coming months will be on trying to
establish an Abbey-Field housing project in Toronto. An Abbey residence
is a large private house that is converted into a seniors’ home; such
tenements are very common in England but do not exist in Canada.
Campbell says that a POINT-approved Abbey-Field in Canada would stress 
affordability.

And, according to the statistics, the country is going to need a lot
more of such projects. The housing shortage is a problem that will only
intensify as 9.8-million baby boomers move into their golden years: by
the year 2020, one of five Canadians will be elderly. What’s more, over
55 per cent of seniors live in rental housing. 

To find ways of building more affordable accommodation, CARP is hosting
a housing round-table in conjunction with government officials, advocacy
groups, and developers on June 21st. CARP’s marketing director, Eric
Vengroff, has also been asked to sit on the National Housing Research
Committee for Seniors.

Vengroff wants the federal government to explore the possibility of
giving tax credits to developers for the purposes of building new public
housing. He points to a similar initiative in the United States which
helps build 100,000 affordable units every year. 
 
******

2. The housing crisis in Antigonish

Nova Scotia -- Housing advocates converged on the seaside community of
Antigonish recently to discuss the logistics of establishing a second
stage housing program for women and children in the university town.

Representatives from various housing groups briefed government officials
on the need for affordable housing in the small university town. This
wasn’t the first time the concept has been bandied about in the
province; for years, housing advocates have talked about the housing
crisis in Antigonish. Every year thousands of students pour into the
town to attend St. Francis Xavier University. As a result, rents often
rise to Halifax levels. Moreover, the community has very little extra
land to build new housing because the university is constantly buying
large tracts of town property—which is further compressed by narrow
municipal boundaries. 

Because the feasibility for second stage housing weighs so heavily on
the land availability issue, delegates at the conference mainly
discussed possible locations. 

"We’d even like the university to consider donating some land for the
project," explains grant Wanzel, a professor of architecture at
Dalhousie University, who attended the round-table. "The university has
to realize that it is putting pressure on the housing market."

Once the logistics have been hashed out, proponents of the project will
submit a formal proposal to various government levels.

******

3. British Columbians await verdict on housing: 

When government changed hands recently in British Columbia, housing
advocates were wondering what the fate of their much-vaunted housing
program might be. 

In its second day in office, the new Liberal administration of Gordon
Campbell moved swiftly to lump BC Housing into a new super-ministry,
entitled Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services. The change sparked
worries that housing will rank low on the new government’s priority
list. "Housing is now buried under a plethora of ministries," says Val
McDonald. "If there is ever a fear, it’s that housing may not be given a
high value." 

British Columbia is only one of two provinces in Canada—Quebec is the
other—that has a comprehensive housing program. Since the federal
government got out of the housing business in 1992, B.C. has built more
than 4000 units since, and the NDP government had planned to build
another 2,400. "British Columbia was one of the shining lights," says
Jack Layton, president of the Canadian Federation of Municipalities. "It
would be tragedy if they were to axe it." 

So far, the new government has made no announcements regarding its
housing plans. "It’s status quo at this point," adds McDonald. 

There were rumours during the B.C. election that a Campbell government
would privatize BCHousing and dissolve rent review – an allegation that
was mainly propelled by an NDP press release entitled, "Affordable
housing on the block: No protection from unfair rent hikes, no
affordable housing under Campbell". 

But suspicions were also fuelled by the developer-friendly language
employed by Campbell at various times during and prior to the election.
Last April, the Liberal leader was quoted as saying to a business
gathering, "I want to go to industry and say ‘Now tell us what doesn’t
make sense and we’ll get rid of it.’"

And when asked by reporters to spell out his views on affordable
housing, Campbell once replied, "Sometimes it is good to build the asset
and hold it, but you have to remember that some day the asset
[affordable housing] gets old and has to be redeveloped, and that's the
issue that we'll be facing with private/public partnerships in the
future of BC..." Frequent calls to the Campbell government were not returned.

*****

4. Poor housing conditions drive tenants north

South Porcupine, Ontario –-It’s a cool, quiet Northern Ontario morning,
and Raven Gorganie is reveling in the serenity. He is staring out at a
lake that straddles the small mining town of South Porcupine, just a few
miles away from Timmins. 

Although Gorgenie could pass as a model for Freedom 55, he is actually
subsisting on a very meager disability and lives in a modest subsidized
housing unit, just down the street from the lake. Even so, he is happier
than he has been in a decade. His apartment is in a nice, well
maintained, quiet building. The superintendent will come at any time to
do repairs. 

Most Canadians wouldn’t see what he big thrill is. But just three years
ago, the 54-year-old Gorgenie was living in a Toronto public housing
unit that he describes as ‘toxic box’. There were constant gang fights,
gun shots, and whirring ambulances outside his doorsteps. He describes
his unit as "criminally under-funded". 

"It would take months to get the toilet fixed". This all made life
pretty miserable for Gorgenie, who was already suffering from severe
arthritis – which prevents him from working. 

But instead of adding his name to an impossibly long waiting list to try
and seek housing in another Toronto neighborhood, Gorgenie decided to
re-locate to Northern Ontario, where, in some communities, the housing
queues are shorter. "Since I moved here," says Gorgenie, "I’ve been able
to go off pain killers—my stress levels have gone down that much." 

He is part of a small, but growing group of disability recipients who
are seeking better housing conditions north of Barrie. For those
receiving an Ontario disability pension, the government will pay for
your trip to another location—so long as the destination is within
Ontario. Private agencies like the Daily Bread Food Bank and the
Salvation Army often supply assist the recipients in finding an
apartment, but generally it is up to the recipient to do the footwork. 

"As soon as I can go, I’m gone," says 44-year-old Rico Lana, who is
tired of living in a subsidized unit which is nearby to periodical
shootings and fights. Lana, who is on disability insurance, says that he
hopes a transfer to northern Ontario might, "Buy him a little more
time". 

But government officials and recipients are quick to caution that people
shouldn’t fantasize about a northern life. There are real down sides.
For one, if you have a major medical problem that requires frequent
out-of-town travel, your travel expenses will not be completely covered.
And in many small northern hamlets, there are few specialized services
for people living with disabilities. 

"Some people utopianize the north," says Karen MacDuffee, a City of
Toronto social worker. "When someone comes to me who is considering this
move, I ask them to consider all circumstances. Do they have a family
connection to where they’re going? What is the economic situation of the
area? What are transportation considerations? Because maybe you’re rent
is $300 a month, but if you have to buy a car to get to the grocery
store, how much money are you saving?"

Raiven Whitecloud, a 60-year old woman living off a disability pension,
knows that very well. She too moved to South Porcupine from Toronto and
found a subsidized apartment which she loves. But she is paying almost
double for certain medical supplies. Even so Whitecloud is generally
quite happy to be away from her tiny one-bedroom in downtown Toronto. "I
can breath fresh air for the first time."

*******

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