Prior to the holidays, current members should have received membership renewal notices by email. If you have not received it, please contact Melissa Weigel at mweigel@chra-achru.ca.

Take advantage of special Congress rates, invitations to members-only webinars, the chance to run for and vote in Board elections, and so on. Your membership is an investment that pays off throughout the year.

Renew or join today to get the most benefit!

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In response to concerns raised by the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA) with the National Co-Investment Fund’s application process, CMHC has provided us with two documents that include changes that will ease the burden on housing providers applying to the program. 

The first document is a webinar transcript (PDF) from a session held in October 2018 during which changes to some of the original application policies were announced. 

The second is a new document issued by CMHC announcing changes to the energy efficiency and accessibility requirements for certain projects.

CHRA’s Indigenous Housing Caucus has received $189,000 in funding as part of a collaborative federal research grant from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Indigenous Services Canada to identify issues – such as expiry of operating agreements, waitlists, and housing management – most prevalently affecting urban, rural, and northern Indigenous housing service providers. 

Acknowledging that urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing may not be effectively addressed by current federal policies or that potential gaps exist, results from this project will help inform a call for increased and improved services and supports. 

​Each year we honour and pay tribute to outstanding individuals and organizations that excel at providing safe and affordable housing to all people living in Canada. Nominations for the four CHRA National Awards of Recognition are now open. 

Nominate a deserving candidate today, and let’s celebrate the outstanding achievements taking place in the social and affordable housing sector!

Deadline: December 14, 2018

Stéphan Corriveau, CHRA Board President, provided insights and context surrounding the legislated right to housing in Canada during a televised interview on Radio-Canada Ontario. 

He detailed the scale of the mass homelessness phenomenon we are experiencing in Canada and explained that adopting a law would help correct this situation that has been worsening in the last 25 years due to lack of federal government involvement. Stéphan also pointed out that at the federal level, although things have been heading in the right direction for the last few years with commitments that would enable building up to 10,000 units per year, there remains an important need for major investments in social, non-profit and affordable social housing that go beyond a law. Without these investments, he explains, we will not be able to absorb this crisis, it will instead get worse. 

“It was great to connect with someone more experienced in my field. The greatest takeaway was building contacts in the sector.” HPMP 2018 participant

The Housing Professionals Mentorship Program connects experienced housing professionals with those who are ready to take the next step in their professional journey, or graduate students whose research is focused on housing or homelessness in Canada.

Canada has seen significant change and investment in social, non-profit, and affordable housing across in 2018. This report provides a snapshot of budgetary and related housing developments, including commitments made by provinces and territories in their 2018-2019 budgets, recent housing announcements and initiatives underway. Where possible, it offers a glimpse into anticipated housing policy developments in each jurisdiction.

The National Housing Strategy contained $500 million for the Federal Community Housing Initiative, a new rental subsidy program for community housing providers whose federally administered Operating Agreements expire between April 1, 2016 and March 31, 2027. This new program is being rolled out in two phases – the first phase will extend rental subsidies to 2020, while Phase 2 will extend subsidies until 2027. 

Based on a CMHC discussion paper and an in-person meeting with CMHC in July 2018, we wrote to the Minister responsible for CMHC, the Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos, to share our thoughts and concerns with several of the ideas proposed. 

We are seeking proposals for our 51^st National Congress on Housing and Homelessness, from April 2 to 4, 2019 in Victoria, BC. The deadline to submit is October 28, 2018.
 
This event provides an exceptional opportunity to meet and exchange with a growing body of practitioners, policy makers, front-line workers, government officials and key stakeholders within the social, affordable, and non-profit housing sector. Congress convenes over 550 delegates and sector leaders from Canada and other countries for three days of learning and networking.
 
Each year the we develop a unique program with concurrent workshops, plenaries, mobile tours and keynotes to meet the educational needs and interests of our members and participants from across the affordable housing and homelessness community. At this time, we are inviting interested participants to submit proposals for concurrent sessions. 

View the detailed call
Submit your proposal

The Canadian Housing and Renewal Association joined other affordable housing, homelessness and anti-poverty representatives, including Leilani Farha, the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, to release an open letter to Prime Minister Trudeau signed by over 170 prominent organizations and individuals. It calls for the forthcoming right to housing legislation to be meaningful and to ensure that proper mechanisms are put in place to promote the right to housing for all people in Canada. The letter was released at a press conference on Parliament Hill on August 14, 2018.

Read the letter
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