Toronto
Tenants living in non-profit housing – many of them in the GTA – are in danger of losing federal grants that keep their rents low, paying rents geared to their income. They’ll face steep rent hikes, forcing them to leave, to be replaced by more affluent tenants.
Already the number of housing units benefitting from these federal housing subsidies has dropped from 630,000 in 2006 to 613,500 in 2010, and could drop to 540,800 by 2015. The withdrawal of federal funds will make the housing crisis in Toronto and across Canada even worse. Already about a million households in Canada are either paying too much of their income in rent (often 50% or more) or living in degrading conditions. The threatened sale of TCHC homes shows what happens when nonprofit housing doesn’t get the funding it deserves.
We need to preserve the social housing we’ve got – housing co-ops and other social housing – for tenants now, and for all families and individuals who will need it in the future. The federal government can easily afford to provide the funds needed. Only $1.7 billion per year is needed to maintain the current funding – a tiny share of government spending.
Why is the government willing to spend tens of billions of dollars on new jails and fighter planes – but won’t provide money needed for decent, low cost housing?
People across the country are demanding that the federal government commit to maintaining funding for social housing, after the funding agreements for this housing expires. Add your voice to this urgent campaign! Here’s what you can do:
Contact your MP
Attend the rally on May 26: Download the Handout for Toronto
Ottawa
The Ottawa Alliance to End Homelessness will release a report on Ottawa’s rental market on Friday, May 25.
Check their website for a report on rental market data, what the homelessness data (HIFIS) tells us about renting in Ottawa and the potential for even greater challenges as the social housing operating agreements expire
On June 8, the Ottawa Alliance to End Homelessness will hold a public awareness meeting with an expert panel discussing Why Defend Social Housing.
