Blog Series | Social, Non-Profit and Affordable Housing

As CHRA approaches the end of an(other) unprecedented year, we’re looking back at what we’ve achieved as an organization and as a sector in 2021. Read on to see some of our biggest accomplishments and developments from the past 12 months.

On August 10, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, an independent, non partisan office that conducts fiscal research for Parliament, released a report analyzing the federal government’s past and planned spending on affordable housing. The report contained a valuable and eye opening synopsis of the impacts of the programs under the National Housing Strategy…

Blog published by CHRA Indigenous Caucus

Each year on June 21st, Indigenous peoples across Canada come together to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day (NIPD. This is a day to recognize the unique and diverse cultures and heritage of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. The CHRA Indigenous Caucus invites you to celebrate National Indigenous People’s Day, especially during a difficult time for Indigenous peoples across Canada.

Blog written by HPC Housing Investment Corporation, picture provided by GEC Architecture

The HPC Housing Investment Corporation (HIC) announced last week that it closed its second round of financing – a significant milestone for the fairly new housing sector lending institution. As part of HIC’s new Construction Lending Program, it was able to secure $40 million in long-term financing for Capital Region Housing’s Londonderry project that will see 240 new affordable homes in Edmonton, Alberta.

In this blog, Howie Wong, HIC Director and General Manager explains what exactly HIC can offer housing providers and how they can benefit from their financing tools.

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

Speculation has been rife in Ottawa and among political pundits as to if, and when, the federal government might introduce its next Budget. 2020 was an odd year in that the federal government did not introduce an annual budget, despite hundreds of billions of dollars in spending due to the pandemic. Here are five items that CHRA will be watching for in the 2021 federal Budget.

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

As we look ahead in 2021, Jeff Morrison highlights the top 10 things the community housing sector should keep watch for in the upcoming year.

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

On November 30, 2020, the federal government announced their “Economic and Fiscal Snapshot”. Although not a full budget, the fiscal update announced the government’s intentions to introduce over $100 billion in stimulus spending after the COVID-19 pandemic had subsided. Professor Pomeroy shares his thoughts on this Fall Fiscal Update.

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.