politics
Canadians Want to Prioritize Social Housing: Report
The consultation report is a prelude to 2017's national housing strategy.
Image from the housing consultation report.
A national housing strategy has been a long time coming, and with the release of a report by the federal government today, it’s one step closer.
The 66-page report [PDF] is the result of the “Let’s Talk Housing” consultations, which ran across the country from July to October. The report identifies key themes and priorities from different stakeholders, some of which read like boilerplate talking points (“strengthening the middle class,” “vibrant communities”), but others are more substantive. Social housing, for instance, warrants 107 mentions.
The report identifies the expiring funding agreements, aging and deteriorating buildings, and extraordinarily long waitlists as key issues. Sure, this is what housing advocates have been saying for years, but to see it reflected in a federal report is an encouraging sign.
Also encouraging is that every province and territory (except Yukon) rated social housing in its top four concerns. If this provides clues to what will be included in the 2017 national housing strategy, that’s a good thing. After all, for any strategy to be truly national it can’t just focus on big-city concerns, and the fact that social housing is a common cause is good news for Toronto.