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Housing co-ops welcome the signing of the National Housing Strategy’s first bilateral agreement

Published April 30, 2018

Ottawa, ON, April 30, 2018

The Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF Canada) and housing co-ops across Ontario applaud the signing of the bilateral agreement between the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario on the deployment of the National Housing Strategy announced last fall. This agreement will invest $4.2 billion and sets the terms for the roll-out of the decade-long Strategy to co-ops looking to renew, regenerate, and build on their existing assets.

Today’s bilateral agreement follows the signing of the “Housing Partnership Framework” (Partnership), a multilateral agreement between the Government of Canada and the provincial/territorial governments, save for Quebec. The Partnership set the foundation upon which bilateral agreements between the federal and provincial/territorial governments could be built. This foundation includes a commitment by the governments to the continued assistance of 330,000 social housing units, a 15% expansion of rent-assisted units (approximately 50,000 units), and the repair of 20% of the social housing stock (approximately 60,000 units). Today’s bilateral agreement will maintain more than 131,000 housing spaces.

“This is a step forward for the preservation of affordable housing in Ontario,” noted CHF Canada President Nicole Waldron. “Ontario is the first province to sign on to the National Housing Strategy and we hope to see other provinces and territories follow Ontario’s leadership so that the federal government’s investment can be realized at the community level.”

“We have been advocating to Queen’s Park that the Province needed to sign on to the National Housing Strategy, without delay, to get the money flowing to where it is needed most,” added CHF Canada Ontario Region Managing Director Harvey Cooper. “Dollars from the National Housing Strategy will make great strides in reducing housing need in Ontario.”

Ontario is home to 550 housing co-ops spread across the province. Together, these non-profit co-ops offer an affordable, community-oriented home to 125,000 Canadians.

Last month, the Government of Canada announced the implementation of Phase I of the Federal Community Housing Initiative (FCHI) announced in the National Housing Strategy. The FCHI provides continued assistance to low-income households living in co-ops with federally-administered agreements through to 2028.

In Ontario, the FCHI helped keep 1,400 low-income co-op households (predominantly seniors, single-parent families, new and Indigenous Canadians, and individuals with disabilities) in their homes and communities.

The Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF Canada) is the national voice for housing co-operatives and represents quarter of a million Canadians who live in 900 housing co-operatives across the country.

 

Contact:

Tim Ross

Director, Strategic Affairs

tross@chfcanada.coop

Tel: 613-314-6267 | 613-230-2201 x222


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