Canada has been under strong scrutiny in recent days as the United Nations looks at how well the federal government is meeting its international obligations. The verdict: Canada is failing to meet the basic standards in international law, and is especially failing women, Aboriginal people and the poor. The international attention will grow even stronger […]
Housing "downturn" could be next U.S. disaster
Exactly one year ago, Hurricane Katrina tore a devastating strip out of the U.S. economy, and revealed the failure of successive administrations – Democratic and Republican – to deal with poverty, housingand racism. The bigger lesson from Katrina has been that the steady dismantling of progressive social policy has a deadly impact on the lives […]
Continue ReadingHousing "downturn" could be next U.S. disaster
500 homeless dead – and counting!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006, marked a grim anniversary. The Homeless Memorial at the Church of the Holy Trinity in downtown Toronto added its 500th name at the regular monthly service yesterday. That’s 500 women, men and children – our mothers, our fathers, our sisters, our brothers, our sons, our daughters – who have died on […]
Day one – national Aboriginal housing summit
Sunday was day one of Canada’s first-ever national Aboriginal urban housing summit in Winnipeg. The National Aboriginal Housing Association invited about 80 Aboriginal housing leaders from across the country for several days of information-sharing and strategizing. I was delighted, and honoured, to be invited to deliver a keynote address at the Sunday luncheon and will […]
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Debating housing and homelessness in LA
The Los Angeles Times recently devoted five days to a debate on housing and homelessness between two policy experts. Prof. Peter Dreier is recognized as one of the leading housing experts in the world. His detailed analysis of the LA situation has a lot of practical observations about housing and homelessness issues in other metropolitan […]
Wellesley update: Why all the fuss from realtors about TOs land transfer tax?
Torontos proposed land transfer tax, far from being a massive tax grab since it targets people who can least afford it (according to the Toronto Real Estate Board), in fact targets high-end properties, such as the typical Rosedale mansion that sells for $1.5 million, for the biggest bite. Torontos property market is becoming increasingly expensive, […]
Continue ReadingWellesley update: Why all the fuss from realtors about TOs land transfer tax?
Underlining the UK housing need
The National Housing Federation in the United Kingdom has just released a new study that underlines the critical need for a massive investment in more social housing in that country. Home Truths sets out the specific reasons for a target of 70,000 new affordable homes annually. In mid-July, the new UK administration of PM Gordon […]
Another public holiday for Ontario?
One of the political parties contesting the October 10 election in Ontario has revived the age-old idea of an additional public holiday for the province in February (that rather bleak stretch between New Year and the spring that offers little relief). If adopted, that would bring to eight the number of public holidays in Ontario […]
Barbaric…
… that’s the only way to describe the urban health landscape in the United States, the richest country in the world and the self-proclaimed leader of the “free” world. I’ve been in Baltimore for the International Conference on Urban Health and on Thursday afternoon was invited to visit parts of the inner city. I visited […]
Remembering the victims of the Rupert fire
Every year, as the holiday season approaches, a group of low-income tenants and housing advocates gather to remember the ten people who died in the Rupert Hotel rooming house fire, and to re-commit themselves to the campaign for safe and affordable homes for all. This year’s Rupert memorial will be held on Thursday, December 13, […]