Affordable Housing

First, the city cleared people experiencing homelessness from parks. For the past two weeks, they’ve been clearing them out of the wooded area along the rail trail between Wentworth and Gage. Threatened with tickets that they can’t pay, people are scared and being traumatized as they pack what they can carry and move—where? There is … Read more

The latest provincial budget, released last week, is again frustrating for those committed to expanding the supply of badly needed affordable non-profit and co-op housing. The Ontario government remains focused on supporting further expansion of for-profit housing and the budget never mentions non-profit or co-op housing. But even on its own terms, the government isn’t … Read more

Canada’s new federal housing minister, Gregor Robertson, had barely been sworn in when he was asked a simple question: Do you think prices [for homes] need to go down? He said, “No, I think that we need to deliver more supply, make sure the market is stable, it’s a huge part of our economy. We … Read more

There’s a political challenge with house prices. They are too high for would-be first-time buyers to buy—average house prices are affordable only with the highest 15 or 20 per cent of incomes. So would-be buyers need lower prices. But the 65 per cent of Canadians who already own a home tend not to want prices … Read more

An enthusiastic audience member came away from last Saturday’s Co-operative events convinced that co-op housing “is the best way to live,” especially for young families and seniors. The event drew relatively few people—about three dozen—but those who came heard lots about how co-op housing works, its benefits and some of the challenges and opportunities of … Read more