THUNDER BAY - The Ontario NDP is releasing an ambitious plan to address what it says are long-neglected housing issues across Northern Ontario.
Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath, along with MPPs from across Northern Ontario, held a virtual media conference on Friday where she unveiled the party’s Homes You Can Afford Plan.
“Finding a good home you can afford has been getting harder and harder for decades,” Horwath said. “Ontario’s housing crisis has gotten worse and worse. We are saying no more.”
According to Horwath, affordable housing is becoming harder to find across the province, with the wait list growing to 185,000 people, with seniors making up 35 per cent of those waiting.
The NDP’s plan includes helping 311,000 households across the province pay rent with direct financial support and help sharing the costs of down payments for houses with the government providing a shared equity loan of 10 per cent of the purchase price for those with an annual income less than $200,000.
There are also plans to make renting more affordable by bringing back rent control and scrapping vacancy decontrol and stop landlords own use evictions.
“We need rules that even the playing field between the good guys and the bad apples that exploit loopholes and tenants,” Horwath said.
The NDP, if elected in 2022, would also invest in the construction of 69,000 new affordable homes and 30,000 new homes with supports, while also extending the lifespan of 260,000 existing affordable housing units needing repairs or maintenance.
The NDP will also support a by Indigenous, for Indigenous housing approach.
“Ontario needs 22,000 additional Indigenous housing units over the next decade,” Horwath said. “We will not take a single step that is not Indigenous led.”
Horwath said they have not broken down the numbers yet on the regional needs for building new affordable housing units or assisting in repair and maintenance of existing units, supportive units, and Indigenous units because they are still in consultation with community leaders to determine the needs.
“We don’t want to pick a number out of thin air based on some proportion lists,” she said. “We want to make sure the investments we are making will have an optimal effect.”
“We will make sure north actually gets it fair share. We will resume the homelessness census and prioritize local and individual needs so we can zero in on the things that folks in the north need, rather than maintaining a failed one size fits all approach.”
Thunder Bay Shelter House executive director Michelle Jordan participated in the virtual announcement and she said the point in time count conducted in 2018 found the homelessness issue in the city of Thunder Bay has doubled since 2016, with the largest demographic identified as Indigenous people and people between the ages of 25 and 34.
“Everyone needs to be housed. Everyone needs a home. That’s what we advocate for,” Jordan said.
Jordan added that the Shelter House serves more than 700 meals a day to those in need or not properly housed.
“That shouldn’t be happening,” she said. “We are seeing children in the line, seniors. Homelessness affects everybody in different capacities.”
Horwath said the housing plan is being released now in order to allow community leaders to prepare for discussions that will be coming down the road after the 2022 provincial election.
“I know very well that cookie cutter approaches just don’t work,” she said. “You deserve a good, safe secure place to call home. A home you can afford. This is a plan that offers hope. I know that together we can make it happen.”