Resolution 2: Build more non-market housing in Canada

SUBMITTED BY: CHF Canada Board of Directors

CONTACT: Coral Hetherington
Chair, Resolutions Committee, CHF Canada
311 – 225 Metcalfe Street
Ottawa, ON K2P 1P9
boardofdirectors@chfcanada.coop

WE RESOLVE:

1. THAT CHF Canada advance our vision of Co-op Housing for All, by advocating for the doubling of non-market housing across the country, including co-operatives;
2. THAT CHF Canada call of the federal government and the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion to fund and launch without further delay the new Co-operative Housing Development Program first promised in the 2022 federal budget;
3. AND THAT CHF Canada work with members, stakeholders, and all orders of government to achieve these goals.

OUR REASONS FOR THIS RESOLUTION ARE:

1. CHF Canada members adopted a vision of Co-operative Housing for All in 2018 to ensure that significantly more people can call co-op housing home. Co-op Housing for All is an exciting commitment by housing co-ops and sector organizations to work together towards sustainability and growth. It’s about ensuring co-ops are secure well into the future and developing more co-op homes so that anyone interested in co-op housing and willing to accept the responsibilities and benefits of membership, can do so.
2. The Co-op Housing Development Program is the first federal investment in co-op housing in 30 years. While this is welcome news, more robust and ongoing development of co-operative housing is needed.
3. The percentage of social housing stock in Canada is reported as among the very lowest of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) peer countries, representing just 3.5 percent (655,000 units) of total housing stock. In January 2023, a report from Scotiabank urged that Canada double the stock of non-market housing to support the needs of the country’s most vulnerable residents.
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4. The right to housing requires an adequate housing supply, and Canada is far behind, leaving low- and middle-income earners few options. The lack of affordable housing options is at the root of our homelessness crisis today. We need to build more housing that meets the needs of low- and moderate-income households across the country and create more housing options that do not exceed 30 percent of a household’s income.
5. To help address the massive recent surges in private market rents, CHF Canada is advocating for federal investment to enable the non-market housing sector to operate a national acquisition fund. This type of fund will enable the non-market housing sector to purchase existing private rental properties that are for sale to operate them as non-market housing. This will preserve and enhance rental housing options in Canada. The BC government announced a Rental Protection Fund in 2023 that will be managed by the BC Non-Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA), Co-operative Housing Federation B.C. (CHF BC), and the Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA). This fund will enable the community housing sector to make timely investments, saving thousands of units from massive price escalation. CHF Canada recommends the creation of a similar national acquisition fund.
6. CHF Canada has always advocated for getting the housing supply right. Canada is in a housing crisis, which impacts certain groups disproportionately, especially Indigenous peoples, racialized communities, newcomers, people with disabilities, lone-parent families, gender-diverse people, youth, seniors, and others.
7. The Minister of Housing, Diversity and Inclusion is mandated by the Prime Minister to make critical investments and prioritize policy decisions to expand Canada’s housing supply and continue to advance investments in affordable housing and extend the model of co-operative housing to new communities.

WE THINK THAT THIS WILL COST:

Funding for CHF Canada’s government relations and lobbying activities have been included in the 2023 and 2024 operating budget.