Toronto City Council today approved the City of Toronto’s new 10-year HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan.
The action plan addresses the full spectrum of housing from homelessness and social housing to affordable rental housing and long-term care. The action plan will assist more than 341,000 Toronto households and includes:
• approving 40,000 new affordable rental homes, including 18,000 new supportive homes approvals for vulnerable residents, some of whom are homeless or at risk of being homeless, and a minimum of 25 per cent (10,000) new affordable rental and supportive homes dedicated to women and girls, including female-led households
• preventing 10,000 evictions for low-income households
• improving housing affordability for 40,000 households, and
• assisting more than 10,000 seniors remain in their homes or move to long-term care facilities.
Implementation of the full 10-year plan is estimated to cost $23.4 billion and calls for new investments from all three orders of government. Through current and future investments, the City will fund $8.5 billion, with $5.5 billion already committed through operating, capital investments and other financial tools. The action plan calls on the federal and provincial governments to invest a combined $14.9 billion.
The action plan contains 76 actions to address the needs of people across the housing spectrum. Highlights of the actions include:
• Adopt a revised “Toronto Housing Charter: Opportunity for All” document.
• Enhance measures to prevent evictions and people becoming homeless.
• Preserve the rental homes that currently exist.
• Adopt a new program definition of affordable rental housing based on income.
• Create a multi-sector land bank to support the approval of 40,000 new rental and supportive homes.
• Engage the federal and provincial governments to implement the new Canada Housing Benefit and support the creation of supportive and affordable rental homes.
As part of today’s vote on the action plan, City Council also sent a clear message to federal and provincial governments that homelessness in Toronto is an ongoing critical and emergency issue requiring those two governments to commit on an expedited basis to build on the initiatives the City has taken to date.
Quotes:
“We know it is critical for the future of our rapidly growing city that people from all income levels have a place to call home. The HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan provides a critically important path forward – it will ensure the City is taking action to get more affordable housing built and leading the charge to make sure all governments are focused on housing as a right for people. The City’s commitment is $8.5 billion towards this $23.4 billion plan. I will be working hard with the other orders of government to ensure the entire plan is fully funded. In particular, the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan calls on the federal government to enhance and extend efforts under the National Housing Strategy and calls on the provincial government to commit to increasing income supports and supportive housing options to vulnerable people. This has to be a priority – we have to come together to support households who are struggling to pay the rent and keep, or put, a roof over their heads. I look forward to building on this strong foundation of working together.”
– Mayor John Tory
“The HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan is a people-centred plan that identifies real actions to effectively address the very real challenges we are facing. It recognises that Toronto is place where families and individuals deserve to live in safe, well-maintained and affordable housing – and demonstrates that providing this will create opportunities to succeed. Housing everyone is good for everyone and the HousingTO Plan will bring positive change and real outcomes for Toronto residents.”
– Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão (Ward 9 Davenport), Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee
Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit http://www.toronto.ca or follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/CityofToronto, on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cityofto.