[homeles_ot-l] Ontario auditor-general raises tough questions about provincial housing spending and programs

[Lynne Browne]

Hello everyone,

 

Please take a moment to read and circulate widely this information on the
Ontario auditor-general's findings from Michael Shapcott, the Director of
Affordable Housing and Social Innovation at the Wellesley Institute.  

 

 

More than half the new "affordable" housing funded by the Ontario government
isn't really affordable to the households that need it the most. 

 

That's one of the devastating findings in the Ontario
<http://www.auditor.on.ca/en/reports_en/en09/312en09.pdf>  auditor-general's
latest annual report, released today.  "A provincial strategy is needed to
define the Ministry [of Municipal Affairs and Housing's] roles, set
measurable goals and program priorities, assess risks and options to manage
the risks, determine the resources required, and measure the impact of the
Ministry's contribution to social housing," urges the auditor-general -
echoing the concerns and recommendations made by the Wellesley
<http://www.stableandaffordable.com/sites/default/files/SubmissionWellesley.
pdf>  Institute, and many other partners in the Housing
<http://www.stableandaffordable.com/content/submissions-long-term-affordable
-housing-strategy>  Network of Ontario to the Ontario government's
consultation for a long-term housing strategy. 

 

One section of the AG's annual report focuses on social housing, and it
confirms that the average income of households on the waiting list in 2008
was $15,000, while the average income required to afford new homes funded by
the Ontario government is almost double that amount - $29,000. In addition
to criticising the government for designing an affordable housing program
with rents that are much higher than those that can be paid by low and
moderate income households, the auditor-general also raises a number of
other concerns that have also been voiced by housing experts and advocates.
Among those concerns:

 

*	The province's 2005 housing allowance program is so poorly designed
that only $57 million of the $80 million has actually been allocated (even
though there is a pressing need across the province).

 

*	Although the province has agreed to cost-share with the federal
government a total of $1.2 billion in new affordable housing investments
over the next two years, the Ontario government doesn't have "established
and dedicated staff resources... monitoring the success of its funding
programs in achieving their desired impact."

 

*	The provincial government has withheld $330 million of federal
housing funds (including $198 million for what it calls "provincial
constraint") and is not able to demonstrate that this money has actually
been spent on housing, as it was supposed to.

 

*	While the provincial and federal government have both made
substantial investments in the past two years in social housing repairs, the
auditor-general reports that the province lacks "good asset-management
practices".

 

*	More than 137,000 households are on social housing waiting lists,
but there is little co-ordination among the three provincial ministries that
administer more than 20 housing and related programs; and that wait times
range up to 21 years.

 

 

Lynne Browne

Coordinator, Alliance to End Homelessness (ATEH)

147 Besserer St., 2nd Floor, Ottawa, ON K1N 6A7

Office 613-241-7913, ext. 205

www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca <http://www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca/> 

 

 

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