CHF Canada addresses the Standing Committee on Finance: “A housing system that works for all people in Canada must include more co-operative housing”

Published October 17, 2024

On October 4, CHF Canada’s Acting Executive Director Patricia Tessier addressed the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance to share recommendations for the next federal Budget.

Patricia highlighted four key recommendations:

• Build significantly more co-op homes. The new Co-operative Housing Development Program is helping to create the next generation of co-op homes. To meet the high demand for co-op housing, this program must grow in its ambition and funding. 
• Invest in long-term rental assistance for low-income households. 
• Advance Indigenous housing rights by fully implementing the Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.
• Protect existing affordable rental homes and the tenants who live there through an accelerated and sector-led Canada Rental Protection Fund.

Read more of what Patricia shared with the Committee.

Good afternoon, my name is Patricia Tessier. I am so pleased to be here as Acting Executive Director on behalf of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, or CHF Canada.

CHF Canada is the national voice for housing co-operatives. As many of you know, there are more than 2,200 housing co-ops located in every province and territory, home to a quarter of a million Canadians.

Co-operative housing is a well-documented success story. Co-op housing is affordable, because it is operated at-cost, meaning housing charges are increased only to cover the costs of operating and maintaining the buildings. Co-op housing is secure, because there is no outside landlord who might hike rents, sell the building or “renovict”. Co-op housing is inclusive, as almost all operate on a mixed-income model.

And it brings people of all backgrounds together, to make decisions about their housing together, and to support each other.

In a world of growing housing insecurity and social isolation, co-op housing offers proven solutions to these financial and social struggles. We need more of it. And we need to protect what we have.

This upcoming budget is an opportunity to solidify and further scale the existing federal commitment to build more co-operative housing. I’d like to offer four recommendations.

First and foremost, we need to build significantly more co-op homes.

Canada must, at minimum, double the proportion of non-market community housing, meaning co-ops and non-profit housing.

The recently launched Co-operative Housing Development Program is playing a critical role in enabling the development of the next generation of co-operative housing.

However, the demand for co-op homes greatly exceeds what this program will be able to deliver within the existing funding envelope.

This program must grow its ambition with a larger funding envelope.

Secondly, we need to protect existing affordable rental homes, and the tenants who live there, through an accelerated and sector-led Canada Rental Protection Fund.

We are losing more affordable housing than we are building, at a rate of fifteen to one.

This is because a lot of the relatively affordable housing in Canada is in the private rental market, but the affordability is not guaranteed, as it would be in a co-op.

Rather, renters are one rent hike or renoviction away from losing that affordability, and it will be lost forever. 

The recently announced Canada Rental Protection Fund is an important first step to enable co-operative and non-profit housing organizations to purchase rental properties that are relatively affordable and are for sale.

Tenants – both current and future – would be protected, because that housing would be converted to a co-op or non-profit, therefore guaranteeing affordability in the long term.

Now, we need to see rapid implementation and a sector-led Fund.

Third, we must advance Indigenous housing rights by fully implementing the Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.

Providing culturally appropriate, and affordable housing is an important way for Canada to advance reconciliation.

An Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy is essential.

Implementation of the committed $4.3 billion in federal funding for that Strategy is urgently needed, led by the Indigenous housing sector.

And the funding should lead to continued, deeper investments aligned with the need.

Finally, we must invest in long-term rental assistance for low-income households.

Through the Federal Community Housing Initiative, low-income households living in co-ops and non-profits receive modest rental assistance, so their housing charge does not cost more than 30% of their income.

Typically, about one third of a co-op’s members receive rental assistance. But this is set to expire in 2028. This is what enables co-ops to be diverse, mixed-income communities. The federal government should commit to extending this program past 2028.

This would support the 40,000 households with low-income who live in co-ops and non-profits across the country. Rental assistance is a cost-effective program for government because housing charges in co-ops are far less than market rents. And because homelessness is much more expensive.

To conclude, a housing system that works for all people in Canada must include more co-operative housing.

Co-ops are ready to grow to help remedy Canada’s housing supply and affordability crisis. Thank you for your time and I look forward to questions.