[homeles_ot-l] Affordable Housing Isn't Even on the Ontario Election Radar - Why?

[Mike Bulthuis]

Let's get Ontario provincial candidates talking about affordable housing and
solutions to homelessness! 

 

In a helpful analysis of the provincial campaign and party platforms
to-date, Sharad Kerur, Executive Director, Ontario Non-Profit Housing
Association, offers this: 

 

Affordable Housing Isn't Even on the Ontario Election Radar - Why?

By Sharad Kerur, Executive Director, Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/sharad-kerur/affordable-housing-ontario_b_54405
48.html

 

Over the past four weeks, pundits, parties and candidates in the Ontario
race have talked everything from jobs to transit to past scandals and old
grievances. There's one issue, though, that they've been silent on:
affordable housing.

 

Across Ontario, people young and old are struggling to keep a roof overhead
for themselves and their families. More than 158,000 households are waiting
months or, more often, years for an affordable place to call "home."
Affordable housing is key to getting Ontario's fiscal and social house in
order.

 

Affordable housing is nowhere to be found in the Progressive Conservatives'
Million Jobs Plan, despite the fact that housing is vital for creating jobs.
The Million Jobs Plan makes no commitments to affordability or rental and
homeowner assistance, even though construction of much-needed affordable
housing stock alone would generate over 39,000 new jobs in Ontario, and a
secure and affordable home is key to enhancing residents' skills and
employability.

 

Strangely, the NDP platform is also silent on affordable housing, despite
Andrea Horwath's commitment to making life more affordable for low- and
middle-income Ontarians. Housing costs are the single largest expense in
most families' budgets, and more than one in five Ontario households are
spending more than half their pre-tax income on rent. Investing in
affordable housing would have a much larger impact on families than cutting
the GST on hydro bills or reducing auto insurance.

 

Only Kathleen Wynne's Liberals mention affordable housing in their platform
by partnering with the Feds to renew the Investment in Affordable Housing
program. They also commit to a modest expansion of the Community Homeless
Prevention Initiative. These commitments are something, but they're far
short of what is needed to tackle the $2.6 billion in outstanding repairs in
existing social housing. They also fail to account for the additional
178,000 households that will find themselves stuck in homes that are
overcrowded, unaffordable, or in poor condition over the next decade.

 

The last long-form census told us that the average monthly income for renter
households in Ontario was $2,792. The same year, the average monthly market
rent for a three-bedroom apartment was $1,153 -- more than 40 per cent of
the average household's income. Faced with an increasing affordability gap,
families have turned to food banks and other stop-gap measures in order to
secure a roof over their children's heads.

 

By ignoring housing, all three major parties have abandoned the primary need
of the most vulnerable residents in our communities. Instead, Wynne, Hudak
and Horwath have focused on jobs, gridlock and rebuilding Ontario's economy
without recognizing that affordable housing is a key part of the solution to
each of those problems.

 

Affordable housing increases economic competitiveness and helps deliver
jobs. Companies move to communities where they can find employees and where
their employees can afford to live. Government investments in building and
repairing affordable housing stock also creates short-term construction jobs
and long-term jobs for skilled tradespeople and professionals in
jurisdictions across the province.

 

Affordable housing also reduces gridlock. Congestion costs between $6 and
$11 billion annually in the GTA-Hamilton region alone. Ontarians live where
they can afford, which, with rising housing costs, is increasingly in
car-dependent suburbs. Affordable housing cuts commutes and reduces the
number of vehicles on the road by making it possible for families to live
close to their place of work. Living closer to work also improves employee
morale and reduces absenteeism, making Ontario businesses more productive.

 

Most importantly, an affordable home is the launch pad to a brighter future
for tens of thousands of families. Past provincial and federal governments
knew this and saw affordable housing as an investment in the next generation
of Ontarians. Today's governments have lost their long-term vision, meaning
the future viability of affordable housing is threatened. The immense
backlog of repairs is a direct consequence of provincial and federal
governments abdicating their responsibilities for housing, as are the over
158,000 households waiting for an affordable home in communities across
Ontario.

 

When families have access to affordable housing, children's performance in
school improves, adults have increased opportunities to expand their
training and skills and health care costs go down. Affordable housing boosts
economic activity and reduces traffic congestion, creating new opportunities
and helping us move more quickly.

 

The next Premier of Ontario cannot fix the province's problems without
directly addressing affordable housing. By failing to place affordable
housing front and centre in their campaign platform, all three major parties
have ignored both the needs of Ontario families and the future of our
province.

 

 

 

Mike Bulthuis

Executive Director

Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa

171 George Street, Ottawa ON K1N 5W5

613-241-1573, ext. 314

 

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