Toronto City Council voted on Tuesday to reject the proposal to sell off 740 of Toronto Community Housing Corporation’s (TCHC) affordable homes in 675 buildings and has instead adopted the plan, put forward by the Wellesley Institute, to create a special commission to help Toronto’s social housing agency navigate to a financially secure future. This […]
Housing
Planning And Building Inclusive And Healthy Neighbourhoods
On Saturday, March 3, 2012 the Wellesley Institute’s Director of Housing and Innovation, Michael Shapcott, gave a keynote presentation to urban planning students at a conference at Ryerson University on housing, human rights, health and equality.
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MP Marie-Claude Morin introduces Bill C-400, National Housing Act legislation, in Commons
A detailed plan to create a long-overdue national housing plan for Canada was introduced in the House of Commons on Thursday. The Wellesley Institute’s Michael Shapcott joined other national housing leaders, along with MPs Marie-Claude Morin and Andrew Cash, for the introduction of the draft legislation, which is called Bill C-400, An Act to Secure […]
Toronto Exec calls for TCHC task force as Drummond report calls for increased federal / Ontario housing support
Toronto City Council’s Executive Committee has rejected a request from its Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) Board of Directors to sell off 740 homes in 675 buildings, and is instead calling on Councillor Ana Bailao, chair of Council’s Affordable Housing Committee, to chair a special task force. The Wellesley Institute joined TCHC tenants and others […]
Mayor Ford postpones TCHC housing sell-off again, special task force considered
For the second time in less than two weeks, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has postponed debate at Toronto City Council’s Executive Committee on a controversial plan to sell-off 740 affordable homes in 675 Toronto Community Housing Company buildings. He now plans to call a special meeting of the Executive Committee for Friday, February 17 after […]
Continue ReadingMayor Ford postpones TCHC housing sell-off again, special task force considered
Controversial scheme to sell-off 740 affordable TCHC homes back on Exec agenda, with little change
After strong and sustained opposition from housing experts, tenants and four former mayors, Toronto City Council’s Executive Committee hastily pulled the proposal for the sell-off of 740 affordable homes in 675 buildings from its January meeting. The scheme is back on the agenda for the Feb. 13 Exec meeting with virtually no change. The Wellesley Institute’s […]
Homeless count down in Calgary, community plan delivers results
The Calgary Homeless Foundation is reporting an 11.4 percent drop from 2008 in the number of homeless people in its latest count. This is the first decrease in homelessness in Calgary in two decades. The foundation is a multi-sectoral collaboration linking community, the private sector and government. Calgary was the first Canadian city to adopt a […]
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TCHC Update: Executive Committee has voted to delay sell-off of affordable homes
Toronto City Council’s Executive Committee has voted to delay consideration of the proposal to sell-off of 675 single-family homes from the Toronto Community Housing Company stock until February 13th. Media reports suggest that Mayor Rob Ford was worried he would lose the vote on this matter at City Council due to strong and principled opposition. […]
Continue ReadingTCHC Update: Executive Committee has voted to delay sell-off of affordable homes
Housing and homelessness: Presentation to Ryerson University students
The Wellesley Institute’s Director of Housing and Innovation delivered a presentation on housing and homelessness to George Brown College students on January 20, 2012. The presentation spanned a range of themes, from housing and homelessness in Toronto to national trends in inequality and their impact on housing, plus an historical survey of housing developments in […]
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Use new fed/ON housing dollars to invest in permanent, affordable homes: WI submission to Exec
The Wellesley Institute, in its formal submission to Toronto City Council’s Executive Committee on Jan. 24, 2012, commends the City of Toronto as it considers the allocation of $108 million in federal and provincial affordable housing dollars. The Wellesley Institute supports the overall approach proposed by city staff, which is to divide the housing funds among […]