Today is World Cities Day, a day to celebrate all the ways that cities contribute to the economic and social vitality of our lives.
Today, our affordable housing team is encouraging congregants to write to our Members of Parliament to urge them to greatly increase the funding and the targets set in the federal National Housing Strategy. High housing costs are making it difficult for too many Canadians to benefit from that vitality.
To be convincing, we need to make the case that the strategy isn’t adequate. Below, in Section 3, we provide evidence for that.
In this guide, we provide a couple of sample letter ideas that you can use to write to your MP and below that, we list their names, titles and email addresses.
Please adjust these sample letters to suit your own situation and ideas. Use your own words and do not mention that you are part of the Unitarian church. A surge in letters will look like a campaign but we don’t want to make that any more obvious than necessary.
Don’t aim for perfection, aim to get a letter or letters finished and emailed.
Section 1: Sample letters
Example 1
Dear Mr/Ms XX:
My housing situation is this ______. Too many in Hamilton and the rest of Canada are not so fortunate. I know that more than 50,000 Hamilton households and more than 3 million Canadian households pay too much for their housing.
I am writing because I know too many of those households won’t be helped by the National Housing Strategy and its current funding and targets. Please support doubling or tripling federal funding under the strategy. Its targets would help less than a third of Canadians in core housing need over the next decade and the Parliamentary Budget Officer has said the funding so far provided won’t even achieve that.
The need is urgent. Even before the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of Canadian seniors and hundreds of thousands of families with children were among those that the strategy will leave behind. They need help now.
I look forward to your response to this request.
Sincerely yours,
YOUR NAME (and address, if you live in the riding of the MP you are writing to, just the city if not)
OR
Example 3
Dear Mr/Ms XX:
As we enter winter amid the COVID crisis, I am worried about the many Hamilton households that have long struggled with unaffordable housing costs that will likely get worse. I am thinking not just of those who are homeless but the tens of thousands whose incomes haven’t kept up with the very rapid increases in rents and housing prices and thus pay unaffordable amounts to stay housed.
I write to urge you to push your government to greatly increase the funding and targets of the National Housing Strategy. The current targets leave behind two third of the 1.7 million Canadian households that are in housing need and the Parliamentary Budget Officer has said the funding isn’t sufficient to even meet those low targets.
Millions of Canadian households—seniors, families with children, ordinary, hard-working people—pay too much for housing today, lower-rent units are disappearing and housing costs keep rising faster than incomes. The government needs to triple its funding for the National Housing Strategy to ease the burden of those high costs that force families and individuals to scrimp on other essentials.
l look forward to your consideration of and response to this urgent request.
Sincerely yours,
YOUR NAME
Section 2: Addresses
We are particularly emphasizing emailing Filomena Tassi, Hamilton’s representative in cabinet, and Karina Gould, Burlington’s representative. (The information below has few Burlington statistics, so when writing to Gould, Canadian statistics might be better.)
The Honourable Filomena Tassi, P.C., MP for Hamilton-West-Ancaster-Dundas, Minister of Labour, Filomena.Tassi@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Karina Gould, PC MP, Minister of International Development, MP for Burlington, Karina.Gould@parl.gc.ca
Once you’ve written to one or both of them, revise your email as needed to send it to the following:
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, P.C., MP, Prime Minister of Canada, justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca Dear Prime Minister: and sign (for all of these) Yours Sincerely
The Honourable Ahmed Hussen,, P.C., MP, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development (and minister responsible for affordable housing) Ahmed.Hussen@parl.gc.ca
Adam Vaughan, MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development (Housing), Adam.Vaughan@parl.gc.ca Dear Minister of State:
The Honourable Catherine McKenna, P.C., MP, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, Catherine.McKenna@parl.gc.ca
Bob Bratina, MP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, Bob.Bratina@parl.gc.ca Dear Mr. Bratina (etc. for all regular MPs)
Finally, it’s useful to write to our other local MPs with slight revisions to your email:
Matthew Green, MP, Hamilton Centre, Matthew.Green@parl.gc.ca
Scott Duvall, MP, Hamilton Mountain, Scott.Duvall@parl.gc.ca
David Sweet, MP, Flamborough Glanbrook, david.sweet@parl.gc.ca
Section 3: Evidence that the National Housing Strategy targets and funding are not sufficient
Point #1. Need exceeds government targets
The National Housing Strategy said it would move 530,000 households out of housing need over 10 years. But 1.7 million Canadian households are in core housing need. Even if the housing strategy target were met, it would help only about 31% of the households in core housing need. The National Housing Strategy document states as one of its principles that “Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable home.” Yet the housing strategy leaves almost 1.2 million households behind.
You don’t need to understand core housing need, except to know it’s the measure the government is using to measure need. But if you do want to know, those in core housing need are households in overcrowded homes or in homes in need of major repair or who pay too much—that is, 30 per cent or more of their pre-tax income—for housing; and who couldn’t find an adequate alternative that is affordable in their community.
Who are those 1.7 million households? Among them are:
- 477,025 senior-led households
- 555,610 families with children
- 465,710 individuals living alone
- 118,500 Indigenous households.[1]
Three groups have especially high incidences of core housing need, above 40 per cent:
- female lone parent families who rent, at 42.6 per cent (197,975 households),
- senior women living alone who rent, at 41.9 per cent (162,950)
- Inuit households at 40.7 per cent (6,005 households).
Note: Hamilton has a higher level of core housing need—14.5 per cent—than Canada as a whole, 12.7 per cent. And unlike Canada as a whole, core housing need was higher in Hamilton in 2016 than it was in 2006, in all five federal ridings.[2] The 2016 Census showed that 30,765 Hamilton households were in core housing need. If the National Housing Strategy helped only 31 per cent of Hamilton households in need, more than 21,000 Hamilton households would be left behind.
Burlington has a lower level of core housing need, at 8.9 per cent of households. It too has increased from 2006. And there are 4,400 households in need, even in this richer community.[3]
Point #2. Funding isn’t enough to meet targets
The Parliamentary Budget Officer examined the planned spending on the National Housing Strategy in a June 2019 report[4]and found that spending on assisted housing would rise by an average of $0.4 billion a year over 10 years, compared to the previous 10 years. The report said inflation would eat up all of that increase. The report found that less money will be spent on housing for those in housing need and more on financing construction programs that don’t have to be targeted to those in need. It also found spending to address homelessness would rise by an average of $85.6 million per year compared to the previous five years.
The report concluded, “It is not clear that the National Housing Strategy will reduce the prevalence of housing need relative to 2017 levels. Overall, Canada’s National Housing Strategy largely maintains current funding levels for current activities and slightly reduces targeted funding for households in core housing need. CMHC’s assumptions regarding the impact of NHS outputs on housing need do not reflect the likely impact of those programs on the prevalence of housing need.”
Point #3. Just ending homelessness requires higher targets
Just ending homelessness by 2030 will require, by one expert estimate, a doubling of the National Housing Strategy target for building new affordable and supportive units.
The National Housing Strategy originally called for halving chronic homelessness by 2030. In the Throne Speech this fall, the government said it is “now focused on entirely eliminating chronic homelessness in Canada.” No deadline was given. What would be required to do that has been outlined in a report by Steve Pomeroy, Senior Research Fellow, Carleton University Centre for Urban Research and Education who has decades of experience as a housing expert.[5] Pomeroy emphasizes that ending homelessness requires not just housing people now homeless but preventing new people from becoming homeless. He notes that “lack of affordable housing is becoming one of the largest causes of homelessness. Among other measures, therefore, Pomeroy says that the National Housing Strategy Target of 150,000 new units over 10 years must be increased to 250,000 units of affordable housing plus 50,000 units of permanent supportive housing, a doubling of the housing strategy target just to solve homelessness.
Point #4. We’re losing existing affordable units much faster than we can build
Complicating government efforts to reduce core housing need is the loss of private sector rental units that were once affordable. Steve Pomeroy, mentioned above, says that between 2011 and 2016, 322,600 rental units that rented for $750 a month or less disappeared.[6] Some would have been converted to condos, some would have been demolished, many would have seen the rent rise. Pomeroy noted that during the same period, federal/provincial investments, and unilateral province investments, added fewer than 20,000 new affordable units—so for every new affordable unit added, 15 were lost. And the trend appeared to be continuing.
A rent of $750 a month is affordable with an income of $30,000. In Hamilton, the 2016 Census found that 39,545 households (18.7 per cent of all households) had incomes below $30,000 a year.[7]
We don’t have similar statistics for lost lower-rent units in Hamilton. But if Hamilton had lost lower-rent units in proportion to its share of Canada’s population, it would have lost about 4,900 units.
Point #5. Even more Canadians pay too much for housing
About 3.3 million Canadian households (and 55,000 in Hamilton and more than 16,000 in Burlington) spent 30 per cent or more of their total pre-tax income on housing, the level defined as unaffordable. So, beyond the core housing need measure, as outlined in Point #1, another 1.6 million households pay too much for housing.[8]
In 2011 (I couldn’t find similar statistics for 2016), the average shelter cost for those 3.3 million households was $1,259 a month—exceeding 30 per cent of their income by an average of $510 a month.[9] That’s an average of $510 a month that was not available for other essentials, such as food, health care, transportation, a phone, education, etc.
Point #6. Living alone is even harder
It is much harder to afford housing if you live on your own than if you share housing. The 2016 Census showed almost 4 million Canadians—and 59,575 Hamiltonians—lived by themselves. That’s 28 per cent of all Hamilton and Canadian households. While median after-tax income was just over $61,000 for all Canadian, and Hamilton, households, median after-tax income for one person households was just $31,446 across Canada and just over $30,000 in Hamilton. As noted under Point #5 above, at the Hamilton median income, housing is affordable at rents of just $750 or less, and units at that rent were rapidly disappearing.
As noted under Point #1, more than 27 per cent of those in core housing need are individuals who live alone.
[1] Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Characteristics of Households in Core Housing Need: Canada. P/T, CMAs, July 9, 2020, accessed October 29, 2020, https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/data-and-research/data-tables/characteristics-households-core-housing-need-canada-pt-cmas
[2] Calculations based on Statistics Canada, Core housing need, 2016 Census, November 15, 2017, accessed October 29, 2020, https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/chn-biml/index-eng.cfm Click on Federal electoral districts to find local data.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Federal Program Spending on Housing Affordability, June 18, 2019, 1, 3-5, 10, accessed October 29, 2020, https://www.pbo-dpb.gc.ca/web/default/files/Documents/Reports/2019/Housing_Affordability/Federal%20Spending%20on%20Housing%20Affordability%20EN.pdf
[5] Steve Pomeroy, Recovery for All: Proposals to Strengthen the National Housing Strategy and End Homelessness, Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, July 2020, 20-21, accessed October 29, 2020, https://caeh.ca/wp-content/uploads/Recovery-for-All-Report-July-16-2020.pdf
[6] Steve Pomeroy, “Why Canada needs a non-market rental acquisition strategy: The challenge: Canada is losing affordable housing faster than we can create it,” Focus Consulting, May 2020, accessed October 29, 2020, https://www.focus-consult.com/why-canada-needs-a-non-market-rental-acquisition-strategy/
[7] Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2016 Census, Hamilton city, August 9, 2019, accessed October 30, 2020, https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3525005&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&SearchText=Hamilton&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=3525005&TABID=1&type=0
[8] Ibid, comparing Hamilton to Canada as a whole. And Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2016 Census, Burlington city, last modified 2019-08-09, accessed October 30, 2020, https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?B1=All&Code1=3524002&Code2=35&Data=Count&Geo1=CSD&Geo2=PR&Lang=E&SearchPR=01&SearchText=Burlington&SearchType=Begins&TABID=1
[9] Statistics Canada, Homeownership and Shelter Costs in Canada, accessed October 30, 2020, https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/as-sa/99-014-x/99-014-x2011002-eng.cfm