Thank you to the committee for the invitation to be here today.
I represent the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada. We represent over 250,000 Canadians living in housing co-operatives from coast to coast to coast, in every province and in every territory. I'm joined here today by my colleague Courtney Lockhart. Our mission is to inspire, represent and serve our members across the country.
I'm not here to talk about, necessarily, the interests of our members here today. I'm talking about an issue that is affecting so many Canadians, and that's the housing crisis. Everyone needs and deserves a place to call home that is affordable, attainable and sustainable. I'm sure that all of you around this table have heard from your constituents about the housing crisis and the lack of affordability and supply in your communities. We are far from providing safe and affordable housing for all Canadians.
Today, among renters across the country, nearly one in five is spending over half of their income on rent, putting families and individuals at risk of homelessness and reducing their capacity to afford basic necessities. The problem is getting worse and more robust federal action is needed.
When it comes to housing options, people know that they can buy and they can rent, but there's another choice that has been underutilized, and that's co-operative housing. Housing co-operatives are owned by their members. They provide security of tenure and they're affordable forever. For example, here in Ottawa, a two-bedroom apartment now costs, on average, $1,400 per month, whereas a two-bedroom apartment in a co-operative costs approximately $1,000 per month.
Here we are at the pre-budget consultation for 2020 and we have three actions that we'd like to propose to the federal government that will augment and accelerate the good work that is already under way with the national housing strategy.
First, CHF Canada is calling on the federal government to invest in non-profit and co-operative housing. This is not a new or radical idea. During the 1970s and 1980s, Canada developed many programs that successfully started most of the co-ops that exist in Canada today, sprouting up in every province and territory. These federal programs were cut in the 1990s or devolved to provinces, creating a serious shortage of affordable housing in communities across the country. Had these programs continued, we would have half a million more affordable, community-owned homes across our country.
To get back in the game, we are proposing that the federal government establish a $300-million quick-start co-operative housing development fund.
Second, CHF Canada recommends that the federal government enhance the federal lands initiative under the national housing strategy that is already in place today. The cost of land is one of the biggest obstacles to developing new co-operative homes. The federal government should transfer $15 million in surplus land to the co-operative housing sector to develop new co-op housing. This would spark the creation of permanent affordable housing for generations to come.
In B.C., for example, the co-op sector has leveraged government surplus lands to develop community land trusts and hundreds of new co-op homes that will be permanently affordable in one of Canada's most expensive markets. With an enhanced lands initiative, we can replicate this model and build more co-op and non-profit housing across the country.
I'll turn things over to my colleague Courtney.