Our “home” has become much more than just an abode during the pandemic. It was both a refuge, an office, a classroom, and even a cinema.
Posted at 7:00 p.m.
However, it should be remembered that not everyone has benefited from such a privilege. How many essential workers have finished their working day to return to overcrowded or inadequate housing? How many people have come through the pandemic without even having a roof over their heads?
The pandemic has clearly shown us that housing needs are dire, and the upcoming federal budget represents a watershed moment. We must use what we have learned during the pandemic to put in place sustainable solutions that could make a real difference for our most vulnerable citizens and revive our economy. This budget is an opportunity to be bold on housing and fix this crisis once and for all.
This budget should lay the foundation for a more inclusive and stronger country, starting with transformative investments to end chronic homelessness and tackle the housing crisis. Moving forward on housing is essential to our economic growth and it requires partnership between all levels of government, as well as private and not-for-profit partners. We have already proven, notably through the success of the Rapid Housing Initiative (RCLI), that we can deliver results quickly and make a real difference in people’s lives.
From the start of the pandemic, elected municipal officials proposed using buildings, land, and modular housing to provide permanent and very affordable housing for the most vulnerable. Our federal partners launched the ICRL specifically for this purpose. This initiative works because it allows local governments to put their expertise on the ground to work to transform federal investments into concrete results on the ground. We know which solutions will have impact and advance the goals of equity and climate change in all communities, whether urban, rural, northern or remote. There is still a lot to do, and now is not the time to stop.
In partnership with all levels of government and well equipped, municipalities can help resolve the crisis: this is at the heart of the concrete and positive recommendations that we put forward as the budget approaches.
Canada needs a realistic plan to achieve our common goal of ending chronic homelessness, a key piece in solving the housing crisis puzzle. To achieve this, the next federal budget will have to transform the ICRL, an emergency program, into a predictable and long-term funding tool, while adding additional support services and permanently doubling the funds of the program a home. Such an ambitious and historic step forward could be an extraordinary legacy of our recovery.
This budget will also have to increase the supply of affordable housing: whether it is rental housing at risk of being converted into luxury condos, or affordable housing that the market is currently unable to supply. More and more households, especially in racialized and marginalized communities, are threatened with “reneviction” and struggle to pay ever-increasing rents.
Realizing the commitment to help our community housing partners, such as cooperatives and non-profit organizations, to preserve existing affordable housing is essential; we must act quickly to acquire and protect the very affordable rental housing available. The federal government can also rely on municipal expertise to optimize the programs of the National Housing Strategy, not only to increase the supply of affordable housing, but also to allow local governments to maximize the scope of the future fund for accelerate the construction of housing.
Additionally, for the recovery to be truly inclusive, we need to co-design, in close collaboration with the Indigenous housing sector, a housing strategy dedicated to Indigenous peoples.
In closing, recent tragedies such as those in Ukraine, Afghanistan and Syria remind us that we must tackle the housing crisis not only for ourselves, but also for all those who will want to come and settle in our country and contribute to its future.
We now have the chance to make the best possible decisions for our economy and our communities and to put in place the necessary measures to ensure that everyone has access to a safe and affordable place to call home. The next federal budget can, and must, deliver.