The need for more provincial and federal funding for affordable housing will be front and centre today as Mayor John Tory and 200 other stakeholders from across the country participate in a summit aimed at addressing what organizers are calling an “affordable and social housing crisis facing Canadian cities.”

The summit is bringing together a number of big city mayors, including Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie and Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger as well as the federal minister of families, children and social development and the Ontario minister of housing. Toronto Community Housing Corporation President and CEO Greg Spearn is also in attendance.

“When housing is in crisis, the impacts are real and they are profound, cutting across all

ages and income levels. So we are here to discuss the fact that we have a problem. And let’s be clear – it is both a social and an economic problem,” Tory said during a keynote address that opened up the summit. “Our economic stability and success are jeopardized if hard working people simply can’t afford to live in our biggest cities. In Canada, we work hard not to exclude people on any basis, and housing affordability is threatening that core value.”

Tory told attendees at the summit that the city and the country are sitting upon an “incredible moment in time” in which leaders can either take action to address what has become an affordable housing crisis or suffer the consequences.

 

To make his point, Tory likened the situation in Toronto today to the situation facing the city in the 1970’s when then-mayor David Crombie and others began work on a 3,500-unit affordable housing development in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood. That development, Tory pointed out, saw its first residents move in just five years after the idea was first broached at city council.

“We are once again at an incredible moment in time when people understand, truly, what is at stake,” Tory said. I believe, together with public transit and public space, affordable housing is an issue for a generation. I am not prepared to see us say to an entire generation, ‘too bad, there’s no hope for you when it comes to being able to afford to live in a big city like Toronto – you better go somewhere else.’”

Summit comes amid increase in federal funding

The summit, which is taking place at Daniels Spectrum, comes at a time of renewed optimism that the federal government may be becoming a more active partner in affordable housing.

The feds have pledged to invest $20 billion in social infrastructure over the next 10 years and in July Toronto committed to provide Toronto with $154 million from that fund in both 2016 and 2017.

The federal government is also currently in the process of drafting a national housing strategy and has promised to consult municipalities throughout the process.

“We have $20 billion set aside but it has to land in cities ready to be spent and cities have to be ready to spend it,” former city councillor and current MP Adam Vaughan told CP24 on Friday. “The $154 million that arrived in Toronto in July has not started to be rolled out in any specific projects in a pronounced way yet. We need to see that happening so we can figure out how the $20 billion for social infrastructure lands in Toronto and delivers new housing.”

According to numbers recently released by the city, Toronto’s affordable housing waitlist currently contains about 97,000 households and 176,000 people.

The city is also dealing with a $2.6 billion repair backlog at TCHC buildings. So far the city has funded $900 million in repairs; however $1.7 billion in hoped for funding from the federal and provincial governments has not materialized.

“I think the summit will be an important moment for our cities and for the country,” Tory said ahead of the summit on Thursday. “It is a moment being watched by those who are struggling in our cities, the most vulnerable, but I think it is a moment that is also being watched by an awful lot of parents and their adult children who are increasingly concerned that there may not be a possibility for people to live in our city simply because they can’t afford it.”

Today’s summit will include keynote speeches from Tory, federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jean-Yves Duclos and Ontario Minister of Housing Chris Ballard.

There are also a number of workshops and panel discussions on the agenda as well as a walking tour of the recently revitalized Regent Park neighbourhood.