Yesterday I delivered the keynote presentation to the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing and Homelessness Network conference at Port Blandford on Oct. 26. In my presentation, I warned that the ongoing erosion of federal housing investments will cut vital funding that local groups across Newfoundland and Labrador require to develop effective housing solutions.
By: Michael Shapcott
On: Oct. 27, 2011
It takes a province to end homelessness: Presentation notes
By: Wellesley Institute
On: Oct. 21, 2011
Housing, homelessness and Ontario’s provincial election: Presentation notes
The Wellesley Institute’s Director of Housing and Innovation, Michael Shapcott, presented to lawyers and community legal workers at a meeting of Toronto legal clinics on October 20 on challenges and opportunities arising from the provincial election.
Legal Clinics October 2011
View more presentations from Wellesley Institute.
By: Wellesley Institute
On: Oct. 21, 2011
Plan to sell-off TCHC homes an ‘act of desperation’
As the board of Toronto Community Housing Company meets today to consider a plan to sell-off more than 700 of its homes, leading housing experts – including the Wellesley Institute’s Michael Shapcott – are urging the public housing board, and Toronto City Council, to consider better options. In an article in today’s Globe and Mail, various alternatives are set out. With a record-breaking 80,955 households on Toronto’s affordable housing wait list, reducing the number of affordable units in the TCHC portfolio will stretch out the time for those on the wait list. The Wellesley Institute identified a number of concerns regarding the previous plans to sell-off TCHC housing.
By: Michael Shapcott
On: Aug. 15, 2011
Sustainable, long-term federal housing investments required: WI 2012 pre-budget submission
A good home is vital to personal health and essential to improving the overall health of the entire population, as well as contributing to a strong and stable economy. Good housing is good for the economy, and it reduces government health and other spending. Despite all these benefits, federal housing investments have been eroding over the past two decades. The Wellesley Institute’s 2012 federal pre-budget submission calls for housing investments to be maintained at 2010 level of $3 billion. Read the rest of this entry »
By: Wellesley Institute
On: Aug. 11, 2011
The Toronto 300 speak out on city’s Core Services Review
The Wellesley Institute joined about 300 other organizations and individuals who offered expert views on the implications to the City of Toronto of significant cuts to municipal programs and services as identified by the Core Services Review. Scores of video-deputations from the marathon meeting of the city’s executive committee meeting on July 28 and 29 have been posted Read the rest of this entry »
By: Michael Shapcott
On: Aug. 4, 2011
Ontario Sets 2012 Rent Increase Guideline at 3.1% – More Than 4 Times Higher Than Last Year’s
The Ontario government has set the 2012 rent review guideline at 3.1% – more than four times higher than last year’s rent review guideline of 0.7% and the highest set by the Ontario government in a decade. Private landlords are allowed to increase rents (with 90 days notice) up to the guideline limit once every 12 months. Read the rest of this entry »
By: Wellesley Institute
On: Jul. 30, 2011
“All Cuts Aren’t Created Equal”: Wellesley Weighs In On the Core Service Review with an Editorial in The Toronto Star
In an editorial in The Toronto Star online, Wellesley Institute’s Rick Blickstead looks at the health implications of the proposed service cuts at the City of Toronto and advises readers that cuts come with a price that must be considered. As we build the future of the city, Torontonians need to think about the kind of city we want to live in, who exactly we’re asking to make sacrifices, and at what cost. Read the rest of this entry »
By: Wellesley Institute
On: Jul. 28, 2011
Rushed Policy Process Leaves No Opportunity For Due Diligence
While we understand the City’s fiscal pressures, the Wellesley Institute has concerns about the compressed nature of this year’s budget cycle. Typically, the City budget process continues at least through the fall, allowing the City to more effectively dovetail its budget deliberations with those of the federal and provincial levels of government. This new timeframe has left no time to ensure decisions are grounded in a broader vision of a prosperous, healthy and equitable city. Read our full submission to the Executive Committee here.
By: Michael Shapcott
On: Jul. 27, 2011
Gutting Toronto’s Affordable Housing Office undercuts ‘housing first’ approach to ending homelessness
While Toronto’s Core Services Review report recognizes the value to individuals and the City of Toronto in a housing-first approach to homelessness, that same review undercuts the ability of the City of Toronto to implement a housing-first approach by potentially gutting affordable housing initiatives and perhaps even shutting down the entire Affordable Housing Office. Read the rest of this entry »
By: Michael Shapcott
On: Jul. 4, 2011
Finally! Feds, provinces, territories announce new housing framework: Facts and figures
Three years after the federal government promised a five-year extension of key national housing investments, a new short-term housing framework agreement has been announced with the provinces and territories. There’s no new money in today’s announcement, and the new agreement mirrors the flawed 2001 federal / provincial / territorial affordable housing framework agreement. But the good news is that despite significant cost-cutting measures in many departments, the federal government intends to honour its 2008 housing promise. Read the rest of this entry »