WHEREAS a stable and secure housing system that creates and maintains jobs and allows for a range of living options is essential to attracting new workers, meeting the needs of young families and supporting seniors and our most vulnerable citizens; AND WHEREAS the high cost of housing is the most urgent financial issue facing Canadians with one in four people paying more than they can afford for housing, and mortgage debt held by Canadians now standing at just over 1.1 trillion; AND WHEREAS housing costs and, as the Bank of Canada notes, household debt, are undermining Canadians personal financial security, while putting our national economy at risk; AND WHEREAS those who cannot afford to purchase a home rely on the short supply of rental units, which is driving up rental costs and making it hard to house workers in regions experiencing strong economic activity; AND WHEREAS an inadequate supply of subsidized housing for those in need is pushing some of the most vulnerable Canadians on to the street, while 1.7 billion annually in federal investments in social housing have begun to expire; AND WHEREAS coordinated action is required to prevent housing issues from being offloaded onto local governments and align the steps local governments have already taken with regard to federalprovincialterritorial programs and policies; AND WHEREAS the Federation of Canadian Municipalities FCM has launched a housing campaign, Fixing Canadas Housing Crunch, calling on the federal government to increase housing options for Canadians and to work with all orders of government to develop a long-term plan for Canadas housing future; AND WHEREAS FCM has asked its member municipalities to pass a council resolution supporting the campaign; AND WHEREAS BC local governments have continuing housing needs to support a diverse range of residents to access affordable and appropriate housing choices, such as specialized subsidized rental with supports, affordable rental, and entry level homeownership, that can only be met through the kind of long-term planning and investment made possible by federal leadership: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM endorse the FCM housing campaign and urge the minister of employment and social development to develop a long-term plan for housing that puts core investments on solid ground, increases predictability, protects Canadians from the planned expiry of 1.7 billion in social housing agreements and ensures a healthy stock of affordable rental housing for Canadians.
Minister of State Social Development The federal governments approach to housing recognizes that provinces and territories are best placed to understand local needs. The federal government, through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation CMHC, provides funding to provinces and territories to help meet the continuum of affordable housing needs in their jurisdiction. Since 2006, the Government, through CMHC, has invested almost 19 billion in housing, including 2 billion in British Columbia. Working with key partners, the federal government has helped close to 915,000 Canadian individuals and families, including low-income seniors, persons with disabilities, recent immigrants and First Nations. The Government is honouring its commitments to the existing social housing stock under long-term agreements of 25 to 50 years. At the end of these agreements, the federal government funding will end as planned. At the same time, the mortgages on these properties will generally be paid off and housing providers will find themselves with lower operating expenses as well as real estate assets that can be used to continue to provide affordable housing. I would also like to add that our Government is providing significant funding under the Investment in Affordable Housing IAH. Under the IAH, provinces and territories cost match the federal investment and are responsible for program design and delivery. Provinces and territories have the flexibility to invest in a range of affordable housing programs in order to meet their local needs and priorities. Funding may be used to create new or to renovate affordable rental housing; to improve affordability such as through rent supplements; and, to foster safe independent living through accessibility modifications. For the Province of British Columbia, this represents a combined investment of more than 300 million over five years. Under the IAH, British Columbia has the flexibility to design and deliver a range of affordable housing programs to address local housing needs and priorities. The Province of British Columbia will commit the joint annual funding to support and enhance existing programs, and towards new construction or renovations. From April 2011 to December 2014, more than 217,000 households have benefitted from the IAH nationally, including more than 9,200 households in British Columbia. I would also like to draw members attention to CMHCs Affordable Housing Centre, which helps create new affordable housing, including rental housing, for projects that do not rely on federal subsidies, by offering assistance such as Seed Funding, and Proposal Development Funding. Since 2006, CMHCs Affordable Housing Centre has facilitated the production of more than 25,000 affordable housing units of which 10,773 were for seniors. In addition, CMHC provides a wide range of mortgage loan insurance products that help Canadians, including seniors, access housing finance at competitive interest rates. CMHC also provides mortgage loan insurance for large, multi-unit rental properties including nursing and retirement homes; a segment of the market only served by CMHC. From 2009 to 2014, CMHC provided mortgage insurance on loans for 50,002 seniors housing units. Taken together, this broad range of housing activities supports vulnerable Canadians, homeowners, renters and the housing sector. I hope this information helps assure the members that our Government is committed to affordable housing solutions and to helping Canadians meet their housing needs.