[homeles_ot-l] Ontario Housing Strategy in today's Citizen

[Linda O'Neil]

In the absence of Lynne Browne (on a well-deserved vacation), I'm sending this out. Congratulations to all who participated! There were also radio stories today on CBC and possibly others.


Linda O'Neil

Chair, Public Affairs Working Group

The Alliance to End Homeless



Consultant, Public Education

Canadian Mental Health Association

1355 Bank St., Suite 301

Ottawa, ON  K1H 8K7

(613) 737-7791 ext. 135

loneil at cmhaottawa.ca


[PicExportError]                               28 Jul 2009 Ottawa Citizen (copyright Ottawa Citizen)
[PicExportError]                               BY TIM SHUFELT
[PicExportError]
Ontario 'back in housing business'
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Province serious over push for affordable housing: Watson
Steve O'Brien is one of about 9,000 people in Ottawa languishing on a wait list for affordable housing.
For two years, O'Brien has waited for a spot to open up while he has been forced to live in downtown shelters. This summer, he has been staying in a student dormitory at the University of Ottawa, which he will have to vacate in late August.
"Unless something comes through, I'm back in the shelters," O'Brien said.
Although he has a priority status on the wait list, he said there is no end in sight to his limbo. The housing just isn't there.
"The list keeps growing and the number of places doesn't grow with it," he said.
According to dedicated housing advocates, the affordable housing file always seems to find a way to the bottom of the pile despite their protestations over the supply and state of units in Ottawa and elsewhere in Ontario.
However, the province is now listening, Ontario's Municipal Affairs Minister Jim Watson says.
"We're serious about developing a long-term strategy so we can give some hope to those individuals who are waiting a long time to get a decent place to live," Watson said Monday.
While most Canadians take their homes for granted, too many struggle just to find a reasonable accommodations, he added.
"We have a comfortable home we live in, and a lot of people are couch surfing. They're paying 40 or 50 per cent of their income on rent, and, in a rich country like Canada, that's not acceptable."
On Monday night, Watson hosted a consultation to get feedback on the government's long-term housing strategy. Around 200 people piled into Our Lady of Fatima Church on Woodroffe Avenue to listen to the minister and give their opinions on how best to allocate $1.2 billion in funding.
Last month, the province announced $622 million to build and renovate affordable housing in Ontario, money that was matched by the federal government.
Watson said the funding was an indication that the McGuinty government was serious about addressing the lack of affordable housing, in contrast to previous provincial governments.
He alluded to the Harris government's decision to download responsibility for housing to municipalities in 2001.
"At least we're back in the housing business," Watson said. "We've put our money where our mouth is."
The minister also acknowledged the bloated wait list in Ottawa and said the province was not merely formulating a long-term plan.
Last month, the provincial and federal governments pledged $47 million for repairing existing housing in Ottawa and another $6 million to purchase and renovate a hotel on Merivale Road for a pilot project aimed at getting people off the streets.
Jenn Wilks, a co-ordinator with the Ottawa Child/Youth Housing Advocacy, said she was optimistic that the minister's plan was not merely a round of empty consultations.
"Ontario doesn't have a great record, but we do support this step," Wilks said.


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