Evidence of meeting #17 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was homelessness.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
Prioritize the flexibility, but make sure that you add capacity to the system, not just simply fund the system.
Director General, Association des groupes de ressources techniques du Québec
Exactly.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
If the federal accord is structured along that, would you encourage the Quebec government to sign?
Director General, Association des groupes de ressources techniques du Québec
I don't want to get into the politics. That's for sure. I'm looking at projects for people who are probably in bad housing situations. For three years, because of the bureaucratic knowledge of who's responsible for what.... I don't want to know who's responsible. I want to make sure that the money is there and that it gets on the ground. Both governments are well known and with good faith can arrive at an understanding that this money needs to go down to the projects to build up.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
Thank you, Mr. Cimon.
Thank you, Mr. Vaughan.
We've reached the top of the hour.
Mr. Cimon and Mr. Richter, thank you very much for your thoughtful and thorough presentations and responses. They are of great assistance to the work of the committee, and we appreciate your being with us.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness
Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
Colleagues, we're going to suspend for three minutes while we get the sound check for the next panel of witnesses. We are suspended.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
I'll call the meeting back to order.
I thank our witnesses for joining us today. We are awaiting Jeff Morrison, executive director of Canadian Housing and Renewal Association.
We have with us from the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, Timothy Ross, executive director; and from the Namerind Housing Corporation, Robert Byers, president and CEO.
We'll start with Mr. Ross.
Please proceed with your opening statement. You have 10 minutes.
Timothy Ross Executive Director, Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you for the invitation to present to the committee today.
My name is Tim Ross, and I'm the executive director of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada. CHF Canada is the national voice of the co-operative housing movement, representing over 2,200 housing co-operatives, home to over a quarter of a million people in every province and territory.
Before I begin, I just want to take a moment to recognize our current social context and acknowledge that co-operatives are built on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. It is with that value of solidarity that I say as long as systemic racism exists in our communities, we must and we will work to dismantle this injustice. We, as a sector, stand with individuals and communities affected by systemic racism, violence and discrimination, including police brutality against black individuals, people of colour and indigenous people here in Canada.
Now I will move on to the subject of your study. COVID-19 has reminded us that a safe, secure home is the foundation on which we build our lives, and not all Canadians had this prior to the outbreak of COVID-19. We have seen how this pandemic has also brought to the surface the social and economic inequities that have been invisible or not prioritized here in Canada.
When it comes to housing options, people often know they can buy and they can rent, but there is another choice out there that's underutilized, and that is co-operative housing. Housing co-operatives provide secure, at-cost housing for people of diverse backgrounds and incomes who work together democratically to make decisions about their housing. Housing co-operatives are owned by their members. They provide security of tenure and they are affordable forever. For example, I am speaking to you here in Ottawa, where a two-bedroom apartment costs, on average, well over $1,400 a month. A two-bedroom apartment in a co-operative in Ottawa costs approximately $1,000 per month.
In my report I'll inform the committee how the co-op housing sector has been affected by COVID-19 and provide some recommendations on how to curb the socio-economic devastation brought on by this pandemic.
As a general headline, housing co-operatives are weathering this storm. Because of their community focus, housing co-operatives, by design, are strong communities. They are able to weather economic and social hardship, and anecdotally across our membership we've heard that housing charges, or rental arrears, have remained manageable in March, April and May of this year. We believe this is evidence that the CERB and other income assistance programs are working and reaching the people in need to help them pay for rent and other necessities.
CHF Canada and our partners will continue to monitor these trends in the coming months as the economy slowly starts to reopen across the country.
Co-operatives in Canada and around the world adhere to seven central business principles, making them distinct from other businesses. One of those principles is concern for community. We have seen people taking this principle very seriously during this health crisis. We have heard countless stories of members checking in on each other, particularly their most vulnerable neighbours and the elderly, running errands, picking up groceries and prescriptions, coordinating child care and assisting in countless other ways through their strong community bonds.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, CHF Canada's top priority has been the health and safety of our members and supporting their social and economic stability through COVID-19.
CHF Canada supports the significant steps the federal government has taken to flatten the curve and contain the threat of COVID-19, while also limiting its impact on the social and economic welfare of people in communities. We also appreciate that CMHC's early outreach, specifically to the community housing sector, was to commit very early on to doing what it can within its mandate to ensure no housing loss in community housing during COVID-19.
We also applaud the government's introduction of the various emergency income response programs such as the Canada emergency response benefit. Since the beginning of the pandemic CHF Canada has advised co-op members who could pay their housing charges to do so in order to protect the financial stability of their co-operative homes.
COVID-19 has already highlighted what we already know: The current housing market does not address the housing needs of all Canadian families. Without sustainable action and investment in affordable housing, the disparities in our communities will only deepen and worsen, especially as eviction bans are lifted and emergency support funding ceases.
CHF Canada is recommending that the federal government prioritize investments in housing as a part of its COVID-19 response and recovery plan. Further to that, we recommend that the federal government put housing at the centre of its health, social and economic response and recovery work. To that end, I have a couple of specific recommendations.
Recommendation one is relative to income or rental assistance. Let's recognize that COVID-19 is a global pandemic. COVID-19 is a pan-Canadian pandemic and the economic, social and health impacts are being felt from coast to coast to coast. We need federal leadership to prevent housing loss due to COVID-19 both during the response and during the recovery period to COVID-19.
Yes, we all know that housing is under the jurisdiction of provinces and territories; however, the socio-economic devastation from COVID-19 is universal and requires federal leadership and investment to prevent housing loss. We need to make sure the deferred rents of today don't become evictions of tomorrow, and we need strong income supports now and in the recovery phase to prevent housing loss.
The second recommendation is relative to supply. We encourage the federal government to support the development of non-market, non-profit co-operative housing through both development and acquisition, and that includes housing co-operatives. Housing really does need to be the focal point of any social and economic recovery plan, and investment in affordable and co-op housing is not a radical idea.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Canada developed many programs that successfully started most of the co-ops that exist today, sprouting up in every province and territory. These federal programs were cut in the 1990s or devolved to provinces, creating a shortage of affordable homes. Had these programs continued at their prior rate of growth and development, we'd have half a million more affordable homes across the country and people would be able to weather the storm more effectively. Instead, we have what has already been reported by my colleague Tim Richter, a severe net loss of affordable rentals due to the financialization of housing following the 2008 recession. Let's learn from that recession and not make the same mistakes again.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not comment on the devastating loss of life among elders in long-term care. In terms of our members and members of housing co-ops across the country, we're very committed to aging in place for our elderly members. Co-ops have been helping to adapt to the changing needs of members as they age in place so that they can stay independent and autonomous in their strong community. With the need continuing to grow for low-cost housing options for seniors, we recommend that the government consider investments in aging in place for housing providers such as co-ops.
Considering the broad system impacts of our recommendations, it's paramount to take an integrated approach to the economic recovery planning in partnership with all levels of government, as well as sector organizations with community-based housing experience and expertise.
The co-op housing sector is well poised to work closely with public, private and non-profit partners to build the critical socio-economic infrastructure needed to meet the pre-existing and growing housing needs in our communities. Our movement is resourceful, passionate and dedicated to a future with more co-operatives as a housing option that are open, sustainable and strong.
Amidst the significant level of public spending in response to COVID-19, investing in long-term solutions that support community well-being must be a top priority in economic recovery planning. This is the time for ambitious public investments in people and communities, and this is the time to invest in more non-market, not-for-profit housing, including co-operatives, across the country.
I really appreciate and thank you for the invitation to be here today. I'll conclude on that statement, and I look forward to questions and dialogue.
Thank you very much.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
Thank you very much, Mr. Ross.
Next we were to go to the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association, but we're going to start with Mr. Byers. Mr. Morrison has had some technical challenges.
Mr. Byers, between you and Mr. Morrison, you have a total of 10 minutes. Please bear that in mind.
You have the floor, sir.
Robert Byers President and Chief Executive Officer, Namerind Housing Corporation
I'm the president and CEO of Namerind Housing Corporation, as well as the chair of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association's indigenous housing caucus. We have a membership of around 140 indigenous housing and service providers from across Canada. Namerind is an indigenous non-profit housing provider here in Regina.
Our mission is to provide safe and affordable quality housing and economic development opportunities for indigenous people in Regina.
In 1977, our community determined a great need for affordable housing for indigenous people. Supply was an issue, but so was discrimination. We decided to take care of our own. Since then, that goal has led us on a journey that now includes so much more than a roof over the heads of our tenants. We are giving opportunity back to the indigenous community—the opportunity to create jobs, to create wealth and to create a sense of ownership. We focus on the importance of each staff member as an integral part of this team—first nations, Métis, and non-native and visible minorities.
We have also created community partnerships to better the broader Regina community. Together we believe we can provide safe, affordable and self-sustained housing to all those in need.
We wholeheartedly support the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's principles as well as its calls to action. Reconciliation requires political will, joint leadership, trust building, accountability and transparency. As Canadians, we share the responsibility for establishing and maintaining mutually respectful relationships. We have to be honest about where we are.
My focus today is on Regina's indigenous homeless population. The most recent point-in-time count of homeless people in Regina was done in 2018. Though indigenous people make up 9% of Regina's population, they are 79% of the homeless population. Across Canada, indigenous people are struggling and homeless. In the same year, a point-in-time count was done in Toronto. In the general population, indigenous people represent 1% to 2.5%. They are 16% of the homeless population there and 38% of the outdoor population.
Regina's shelters are of the typical dormitory style with as many beds per square foot as possible, and they are full. Why are indigenous homeless people not sleeping in shelters? Why are so many of them on the streets of Regina, or the streets of Toronto for that matter? Many of our people struggle with mental health and dependency issues. The ensuing chaos makes it unlikely they will be organized enough to get a bed, but that is true of many non-indigenous people as well.
Where our people are sadly unique is in that we have grown up with the unimaginable damage that we, our parents and our grandparents have endured in residential schools. We grew up and shared their pain. The images are seared in all of our brains. When I think of residential schools, I see in my mind pictures of terrified indigenous kids in dormitories. For us, shelters aren't merely grim. They trigger despair.
It's really hard to be homeless in Regina. We saw a young indigenous man walking down the street in Regina on one of our coldest days in January of this year, just as we were starting to wrap our heads around COVID-19. It was -43°C, and he was dragging two shopping carts. Everybody drove by. We were in shock that anyone was walking outside in such cold temperatures.
We called our maintenance workers to pick up him and his belongings and to bring him back to our office. We tried reaching out to numerous shelters to no avail. Because it was two p.m., we could not use the after-hours line of social services. Every line we called told us to call somewhere else. It was frustrating. We gave him a furnished apartment, for which we reduced his rent, and we got him a telephone so he was able to make appointments.
Over the next four months, we worked with this young man to keep a roof over his head, to attend appointments and to start building a relationship with his mother. He applied for social assistance for his rent in February and finally received a payment on April 29. I'm not sure where anyone could live without rent payment for four months. This is the reason people remain homeless in Regina.
It is also hard to help a homeless person. Resources are scarce or non-existent. Existing shelters offer help for tonight but not for tomorrow. Prior to this young man getting help from Namerind, he spent his days walking the city. He slept in banks at night. He ate from garbage cans and shared the food he found with other homeless people. In order to stay warm, he would plug in a toaster oven and that's how he kept his hands warm. He's still our tenant and this young man and his mother are beyond grateful for the help that we've given them.
Our sense is now that the number of indigenous people who are homeless in Regina is much bigger since the onset of COVID-19. We see elders, mothers and kids that COVID-19 has forced onto the streets. They were precariously housed before and have been forced to leave by anxious hosts. We certainly are not used to seeing them in such numbers. They have nowhere to go. The places they accessed for food were closed for many weeks because of COVID. Donations were left outside and frequently plundered so nothing was left. We see long lines of indigenous elders, moms and kids lined up at churches for dinner. For many of them, it's the only meal they get that day.
COVID-19 has laid bare the magnitude of the problem. Our five shelters were not prepared for social distancing. How could they be when the design of those shelters was to fit in as many bodies as possible. Some of them simply closed during the early weeks of emergency measures.
Namerind is in the business of housing indigenous people. We could see right away what was badly needed and we knew we could help. We need a capital investment to provide transitional, transformational private accommodation with priority given to elders, women and children.
Housing is our business, so we quickly found a suitable downtown site for sale that could be easily refurbished. It has a commercial kitchen and dining area. Because it is a motel, there are plenty of individual rooms that can provide social distancing in the short run and privacy in the long run. We will need a directly funded service provider to run the facility and provide appropriate services. Our goal is to welcome the residents to a Namerind apartment or house when they are ready. Our transitional housing will truly be transformational. Unlike shelters, we will work with partners to put mental health and addiction supports in place. We want our people to recover, not just have a roof over their heads.
We have two recommendations. Canada needs to recognize that 87% of indigenous people live in Canada's cities. They deserve a housing program that addresses their needs. The Canadian Housing and Renewal Association's indigenous caucus has recommended that the federal government introduce an urban, rural and northern indigenous housing strategy.
Recommendation two is to provide $2 million to Namerind Housing to purchase 1009 Albert Street in Regina, so it can be converted into COVID-compliant indigenous transitional housing.
In summary, Regina has an indigenous homelessness crisis. It's hard to be homeless in Regina. COVID-19 laid bare the shortcomings of the existing shelter system and forced elders, moms and kids onto the streets. The legacy of residential housing means indigenous people are more at risk, and they reject dormitory housing. We have a plan to help.
Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
Thank you, Mr. Byers.
Mr. Morrison, there are a couple of minutes left if you have anything you want to add before we open it up for questions.
Jeff Morrison Executive Director, Canadian Housing and Renewal Association
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
You have my apologies. Of course, the one time my computer and Internet would go down would be right now, so this is what we call improvisation.
As some of you know, the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association is the national association representing the social non-profit and affordable housing sector in Canada. I'm very pleased to be joined by board member Robert Byers, whom you've just heard from.
I would add that during this pandemic, social and non-profit housing providers have played a vital role, often under the radar and rarely acknowledged by the media. Housing providers have maintained safe and affordable housing for approximately 600,000 households across the country, many of which are low income or vulnerable. They've worked with community advisory boards and local governments to secure short-term housing solutions for homeless populations, which has been aided by the one-time $157 million in extra financing provided through the reaching home program.
Housing providers have provided a range of social supports and services to tenants, often at great personal risk given that the access to personal protective equipment for providers has been a significant problem. They've worked with tenants to find solutions to loss of income or employment such that no tenant has been forced to leave due to an inability to pay rent. As an example, in British Columbia, a survey of housing providers was done that indicated that 46% of housing providers in the province had deferred or waived rent for some of those tenants.
Despite this good work, housing providers are of course being impacted by the pandemic. Based on some surveys and feedback we've received, there have been a couple of quick lessons we've learned. For example, the number of units in arrears or units unable to pay rent has actually been relatively low, about 10% to 15%. This is because, in part, seniors who live in some of these units are living on fixed incomes, and therefore, the pandemic has had a limited financial impact. As well, federal support programs such as CERB have helped mitigate the impact.
Another reason, though, that arrears have been so low is that many units in non-profit housing are a rent-geared-to-income model, meaning that rents are calculated as a proportion of a person's income. As a person's income goes down due to impacts such as loss of employment, the rent they pay goes down. Although this assists the tenant, it has a negative financial impact for the housing provider, as their total revenue also goes down.
A final difficulty faced by providers is that many units are in fact sitting vacant. Because of physical distancing and cleansing requirements, housing providers are often not able to rent out units to prospective tenants during this period. Quebec has said this is a problem. In B.C., that aforementioned survey I referenced, 17% of respondents indicated that they were experiencing vacancies due to the pandemic, which not only reduces income but of course reduces housing.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
Mr. Morrison, I'm going to get you to wrap up if you could, please. We're anxious to get to questions.
You'll be able to get a lot of your points out through the questions, so if you could just wrap it up, that would be great. Thanks.
Executive Director, Canadian Housing and Renewal Association
I'll wrap up with three quick points we would like to propose in terms of recommendations.
One is that the Canada housing benefit, which was originally introduced in the national housing strategy, be fully implemented. Right now there's only one province that has signed the national housing benefit agreement: Ontario. We need all the others.
Number two, the federal government needs to introduce an acquisitions program and policy that would allow non-profit providers to acquire properties such that they could be converted into long-term permanent housing.
Number three, if there is a post-pandemic relief package—and we hope there is—we recommend that housing be the centrepiece of that package. It would not only create jobs and economic activity but also address social ills and better prepare us for the next pandemic to come.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do look forward to those questions.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
Thank you, Mr. Morrison and Mr. Byers.
We will now proceed with rounds of questions, beginning with the Conservatives and Mr. Vis, please, for six minutes.
Conservative
Brad Vis Conservative Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC
Thank you, Chair.
Just before I start with my questions, I do need to make a point. In this committee, one month ago today, I asked for timely statistical information from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officials, within two weeks, which you, Chair, said was completely reasonable. We're on to 20 business days now, double the original timeline. It was relayed to my office last week that IRCC officials have actually completed these responses, but their transmission to this committee is being held up in the final stage of this process. What I understand is that it's likely sitting on the desk of a political staffer, waiting for approval. I certainly hope that's not the intention. I'm just going to make it known that I really want to receive that information so that I can do my job on behalf of my constituents.
Now, my first question goes to Mr. Ross, from the co-op society.
I like the fact that co-ops are independently and community owned in Canada. It's a great model. I also understand that many co-ops across Canada are retiring their first mortgages through CMHC.
How can the co-ops that are retiring their mortgages use their assets to develop more units? Could you comment on that, please?
Executive Director, Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada
Absolutely, and thanks for the question.
We know that as co-ops come to the end of their operating agreements and their first mortgages there are two really big things that happen.
One is that low-income households living in housing co-operatives lose the rental assistance subsidy that allows them to stay affordably housed. That's why it has been the focus of our movement to campaign for the renewal of rental assistance programs, or the creation of new rental assistance programs, which have come in as a part of the national housing strategy through the federal community housing initiative and the Canada community housing initiative. The delivery of those programs has not been uniform across the different provinces and territories, so there's a lot to be preoccupied and concerned about there.
The second piece is that we're talking about 30- or 40-year-old buildings. Some of these were actually acquisitions and rehabilitations, so they require significant reinvestments for modernization. What we've done as a sector is create financing programs to link co-ops up with their credit unions to do a long-term asset management plan and to finance long-term modernization and repair.
Once the preoccupation with rental assistance for low-income households is addressed and resolved, once the repair and renewal question is resolved—and through our programming across the sector, we've already tapped into about $130 million in credit union lending to help with the modernization of co-operatives—we also have some capacity, as we have seen within some of our members, to look to buy some land, acquire something and build something new. We're just on the cusp of this new wave of growth of housing co-operatives.
However, it is a highly competitive and expensive housing market out there, and we're really outbid and out-positioned by the big guys. That makes it really hard to develop new autonomously owned, locally owned, co-operative homes.
Conservative
Brad Vis Conservative Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC
Thank you.
Given that co-ops are community and independently owned by their respective members, I guess some co-ops want to participate in some of these broader federal initiatives, but other co-ops, with the retirement of their mortgage, might see it in their interest just to keep their rates very low for their members and to go it alone.
Would that be an accurate understanding of some co-ops across Canada?
Executive Director, Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada
It is a very diverse movement and I wouldn't want to paint with broad brushes.
As a sector, we've been working with our members to help make sure that they have really good governance, sound management and good long-term asset management and financing to keep these homes in a good state of repair, not only for today's generation but the next generation, to provide permanent affordability for today's members and future members living in housing co-operatives.
We see a lot of interest in rehabilitation and modernization, as well as new growth. In fact, through a democratic motion two years ago at our general assembly, our members supported very broadly a growth mandate to build new co-op homes.
Executive Director, Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada
There's certainly interest and concern for the community to offer more Canadians co-op homes.
Conservative
Brad Vis Conservative Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC
Thank you, Mr. Ross.
I know in Vancouver, and even in Abbotsford where I live, when co-op spaces become available, many families rush to get those spots because they're so sought after and they provide safe places for many Canadians of all socio-economic backgrounds to live in.
Mr. Byers, I'll turn to you for my remaining time.
What has your experience been in terms of getting money from either Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada or Indigenous Services Canada? Do you find the bureaucratic process overly complicated? Would you say that Ottawa is always very responsive to the needs of indigenous people in Regina?