Blog Series | Social, Non-Profit and Affordable Housing

CHRA is blessed to include so many renowned leaders within our membership. As leaders, there is no end to the challenges you face, and no end to the kinds of solutions that you need to develop. Navigating through difficult situations is a common challenge, especially when determining a path forward is not always clear-cut or obvious. As housing leaders, we are all used to getting creative and thinking “outside the box” to tackling the long list of challenges we all face.

By Jeff Morrison, Executive Director of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association

On June 21, the Governor General signed into law Bill C-97, which contained the “National Housing Strategy Act”, and the federal right to housing legislation. So what’s next? Although the right to housing is a positive step forward, questions remain as to its implications. Based on the legislation itself and discussions with CMHC and other government officials, Jeff has compiled a Top 10 list of what we expect the legislation will achieve, what it won’t achieve, and what we don’t yet know. 

By Nick Falvo, Research Associate at the Carleton University Centre for Community Innovation, and CCPA Research Associate. This blog was originally posted on behindthenumbers.ca

On March 19, Canada’s federal finance minister tabled the Trudeau government’s 2019 budget titled Investing in the Middle Class. Budget 2019 has implications for housing—here are 10 things to know. 

By Steve Pomeroy, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research and Education, Carleton University

As I thought about the coming year for Canada’s affordable housing sector, I thought it might be good to write a blog. However, never one to be accused of being short for words, the blog evolved into an essay, much too long for a blog.

This blog post by the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association was originally published on QuickConnections.

The community housing sector is modernizing. Recent developments, from the National Housing Strategy to Ontario’s proposed modernized framework, are moving us in to a new era and challenging us to think creatively. We are seeing new funding opportunities for research open up. As a sector, we need to be ready to take full advantage of the opportunities coming down the pipe.

By Jeff Morrison, Executive Director, Canadian Housing and Renewal Association

In an era where we’re all so busy and many of us suffer from information overload, I know what you must be thinking:  Another thing to read?  One more item on my to-do pile?  It’s true, there’s certainly no shortage of reading material available, even on a topic as specific as housing.  But the staff and Board at CHRA often hear from our members and non-members alike that they don’t always understand everything that is going on nationally in housing, nor even within CHRA itself.  So this new CHRA blog series is intended to be another tool in the communication toolkit to share ideas, information, and perspectives on what’s happening in the social and affordable housing space in Canada –and the more candid and direct, the better.

By Dana Salvador, Communications Associate, Canadian Housing and Renewal Association

On June 26th, the staff of CHRA had the chance to take a tour of Ottawa Salus’ newest 42-unit affordable housing development, “Karen’s place” in Ottawa, Ont. Karen’s place offers its residence an affordable, comfortable and safe place to call home. With full size bachelor suites, common areas for building residents, a community garden, and laundry/washing facilities, the establishment and functioning of this housing project is made possible through $2.3 million of fundraising and donations from several Ottawa Salus donors and partners.

By Maya Kambeitz, CPHR and Cynthia Mazereeuw. Maya is the Executive Director and Cynthia is the Communications Specialist at Norfolk Housing Association in the Sunnyside area of Calgary, Alberta.

Last month the Government of Alberta released their long awaited housing strategy to a group of housing stakeholders from all over the province. Their announcement includes plans to support housing providers and tenants by allowing greater flexibility via the mixed income model, housing supports, and renewal of existing housing. 

It is an exciting time in the province, to be sure, and one that comes with a lot of pressing need as we grasp our way out from under a deflated economy. 

By Dominika Krzeminska, Director, Programs and Strategic Initiatives, Canadian Housing and Renewal Association

On November 22, 2017 the federal government released the National Housing Strategy (NHS), a $40 billion plan with an aim to help ensure that all Canadians have access to housing that meets their needs and that they can afford.

Chapter 1 of the NHS, Housing Rights are Human Rights announced that the federal government is taking “additional steps to progressively implement the right of every Canadian to access adequate housing” – a long-awaited action years after Canada had signed onto multiple international treaties, including the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which recognize housing as a human right.