The Wellesley Institute’s Michael Shapcott will be joining about two dozen thought and practice leaders from Europe, North America and Australia for an international summit on housing and homelessness in Washington DC from March 15 to 18.
Housing
What to look for in the Ontario 2012 budget: Improving housing affordability
Although a good, affordable home is one of the most important social determinants of health and investing in housing not only takes pressure off of the health care system but is good for the economy, federal and provincial housing funding continues to be insufficient to meet the province’s need for new affordable housing and the […]
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Blame the dinosaurs…
By any conventional measures, the Alberta economy is on fire. The unemployment rate is the lowest in Canada, and the annual increase in gross domestic product is the highest. Taxes are the lowest in the country. A rising tide lifts all boats. So, why is it that the affordable housing crisis and homelessness is so […]
Alberta government to shut down homeless encampment
The Alberta government announced yesterday (Monday) that it will move to shut down a homeless encampment in Edmonton on September 15. Edmonton, and Alberta, are experiencing among the worst housing conditions anywhere in Canada – ownership and rent costs are sky-high, the supply is inadequate, there is little government support for affordable housing and few […]
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Happy Earth Day 2008 – some health equity thoughts!
Today is Earth Day 2008 – and a very happy birthday to a much-abused dear old planet Earth! Statistics Canada has released this morning an update to its Human Activity and the Environment series that reports, among other things, that the emission of green house gases are up by 25% from 1990 to 2005. Lots […]
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Day one of Canada's national housing / homelessness conference: Federal minister speaks, but precious little is said
It’s day one of Canada’s national housing and homelessness conference, and more than 600 eager delegates packed the MacEwan Conference Centre at the University of Calgary. A pre-conference rumour raised a frisson of excitement among the housing experts, academics, service and housing providers, federal, provincial and municipal officials and – of course – people who […]
Consolidated government investments in housing up across Canada
Governments at the federal, provincial, territorial and municipal levels across Canada increased investments in housing by 10.4% in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009, as compared to the previous fiscal year, according to new figures released today by Statistics Canada as part of their government revenues and expenditures database. This brings consolidated government investments […]
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Sizing Up Ontario’s Housing Benefit
The Ontario government says that it will release its much-anticipated (and much-needed) poverty reduction strategy sometime in December. Most housing experts (including the Wellesley Institute) say that the strategy has to include a housing benefit – money that is paid to low and moderate-income renter households to help them cover the gap between what the […]
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Commissioner of Housing Equity needed for TCHC tenants: Justice LeSage
Toronto Community Housing Company should create an independent Commissioner of Housing Equity to ensure that tenants facing eviction receive a fair process. That’s one of the key recommendations from the LeSage Review, which was appointed to inquire into the death of Al Gosling, a TCHC tenant who died after being evicted from the City of […]
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Scaffolding up, but lots of work still needed before Ontario finishes building its housing plan
The Ontario government has put up the scaffolding for a long-term affordable housing strategy, but there’s plenty of unfinished business for Queen’s Park as it seeks to build a truly comprehensive plan to ensure everyone has access to a healthy, affordable home. There are no targets, timelines and no new housing investments. After six months […]