CHF Canada welcomes new Minister of Housing Peter Milczyn
(July 31, 2017 TORONTO) – The Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada welcomes the news of today’s appointment of Peter Milczyn, MPP Etobicoke-Lakeshore, as Ontario’s Minister of Housing. He is also the new Minister Responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Minister Milczyn has been involved in all aspects of housing for many years. An architect by trade, he served as Ward 5 Councillor at Toronto City Hall and chaired Toronto’s Growth and Planning Committee.
As an MPP, he continued to advocate for affordable housing. In 2014, he introduced a private member’s bill on inclusionary zoning, which CHF Canada and other affordable housing stakeholders had long advocated for. Elements of this bill were later incorporated into a government bill that passed in the Legislature in 2016.
Minister Milczyn is familiar with the benefits of the co-op housing model. More than 1,200 households live in 11 housing co-ops in his riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore. CHF Canada congratulates Minister Milczyn on his new appointment and looks forward to working closely with him in finding solutions for affordable and co-operative housing.
Minister Milczyn replaces The Honourable Chris Ballard, who is now the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Minister Ballard oversaw many important changes in the housing sector during his time as Minister of Housing, including reforming the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) and the passing of inclusionary zoning legislation. He received a standing ovation speaking at our 2017 AGM in Niagara Falls.
Minister Ballard also worked with the former Minister of Environment and Climate change, Glen Murray, on a program to fund affordable housing retrofits to reduce Ontario’s carbon footprint. CHF Canada looks forward to ongoing collaboration between the two ministries, which has brought about concrete improvements for our co-op housing members.
“CHF Canada wishes Minister Milczyn all the best in his new responsibilities. We look forward to working with him in delivering the forthcoming National Housing Strategy and protecting low-income households across Ontario.”
David Waters, CHF Canada Ontario Region President
CHF Canada Ontario Region is the voice of Ontario’s co-operative housing movement. Its members include over 500 non-profit housing co-operatives and other organizations across the province. More than 125,000 Ontarians live in housing co-ops, in every region of the province.
For more information:
Keith Moyer, Co-operative Services Manager 1-800-268-2537 ext. 224; kmoyer@chfcanada.coop
Douglas Wong, National Government Relations and Policy Program Manager 1-800-465-2752 ext. 245; dwong@chfcanada.coop