“A sustainable and inclusive solution”: Co-op housing in the news

Published September 27, 2023

The housing crisis – and how to address it – is a hot topic in the news right now.

We know that co-operative housing is a key solution to improve housing affordability. Check out some quotes from recent news coverage and opinion pieces that highlights co-operative housing as an inclusive and permanently affordable housing solution that puts people before profit:

• “In a world where housing affordability remains a pressing concern, co-operative living communities have emerged as a beacon of hope, providing a sustainable and inclusive solution for individuals and families seeking affordable housing.” – Opinion editorial by Strathcona Councillor Anderson in Sherwood Park News, published after Britany Lane Housing Co-op’s news coverage.
• “Public money should support non-market housing — co-operative, non-profit and public housing — that is permanently affordable and accessible.” – Federal Housing Advocate Marie Jose Houle’s Toronto Star editorial: Prioritizing people over profit is the way forward on the housing crisis
• “For a growing number of people in Canada, the housing market is broken. At its core, Canada’s housing market is afflicted by decades of financialization – the treatment of housing primarily as an investment rather than a place to live. […] To remedy this, the federal government should amplify its support for non-market housing, including low-cost financing for co-ops and non-profit rental housing. The feds should also put federal land into use for the development of non-market affordable housing, and double down by acquiring additional public land.” – There are better tools to make housing more affordable, published by Vauxhall Advance
• “The greatest potential for addressing the housing crisis could lie in trying to learn from the past. The federal government should evaluate the programs it funded during the 1960s and 1970s to identify useful lessons it could implement with new policy directions. The primary aim of any programs should be to deliver more affordable housing more quickly so that more Canadians have access to decent shelter.” – 10 reasons affordable housing is hard to deliver by Jill Grants in The Halifax Examiner.

Co-ops are part of the solution to tackling this housing crisis. We need to keep sharing about the positive benefits of co-op homes and communities so that we can build more support for more co-op housing. Does your co-op community have a story to share? Get in touch – info@chfcanada.coop. 

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