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441-01150 (Social affairs and equality)
PETITION TO THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
WHEREAS:
- In Canada, more than 620,000 social housing units, nearly all created between 1970 and 1994, were provided through long-term agreements with social housing providers ranging in length from 25 to 50 years;
- These agreements allow social housing providers to financially support their tenants so that they have to spend only about 30% of their income on rent;
- In the last four years, nearly 26,000 social housing units in Canada have been affected by the end of long-term agreements with the federal government. By 2016, that number will have increased to nearly 100,000; and
- As of today, the federal government is still refusing to renew these agreements. By 2030, nearly 85% of the entire federal housing budget will have been cut.
We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, request that the Government of Canada, in collaboration with the provinces, territories, municipalities and community partners, maintain and expand, in line with Canada's obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the federal investment in social housing, which would include the renewal of the funding of long-term social housing operating agreements, in order to preserve rent subsidies and provide funds for necessary renovations.
Response by the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion
Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Soraya Martinez Ferrada
The Government of Canada thanks the petitioners from Vancouver-Kingsway for sharing their concerns about federal investments in social housing.
The National Housing Strategy (NHS) is an $82-billion plan that sets ambitious targets to ensure that unprecedented investments and new programming deliver results.
Supporting and growing community housing in Canada is a priority under the NHS, and the federal government has committed more than $11 billion in ongoing support for this objective.
The Government of Canada is directly responding to the issue of expiring long-term social housing agreements through the NHS. The Canada Community Housing Initiative, the Federal Community Housing Initiative, and other NHS initiatives directly support the protection, renewal and growth of the social housing stock, including preserving rent subsidies and providing funds for renovations.
- The Government is investing $618.2 million over 10 years through the Federal Community Housing Initiative to support federally administered community housing projects reaching the end of their operating agreements from legacy social housing programs. This initiative supports the non-profit and co-operative housing providers that own federally administered community housing to financially support their low-income tenants so that they do not spend more than 30% of their income on rent.
- Through the Canada Community Housing Initiative, the federal government provides $4.3 billion over 9 years (cost-matched by provinces and territories for a total $8.6 billion investment) to provinces and territories to protect affordability, regenerate and expand social housing through ongoing support to housing providers delivering subsidized housing, including Urban Native Housing Program units.
- Partnerships with non-profit housing providers are also prioritized under the National Housing Co-Investment Fund, which supports the creation of new affordable housing and the repair and renewal of existing affordable and community housing. The Government is investing $13.2 billion over 10 years to create 60,000 new housing units and repair or renew 240,000 housing units.
- Budget 2022 committed to a new $1.5 billion Co-Operative Housing Development Program aimed at expanding co-operative housing in Canada, which is being co-designed with the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada and the co-operative housing sector This represents the largest investment in building new co-op housing for more than 30 years.
- Presented to the House of Commons
-
Don Davies
(Vancouver Kingsway)
February 15, 2023 (Petition No. 441-01150) - Government response tabled
- March 31, 2023
Only validated signatures are counted towards the total number of signatures.