Toronto, Ont. – Despite notable investments in the Government of Canada’s 2023 budget, such as providing $13 billion over five years to implement the Canadian Dental Care Plan, WoodGreen Community Services is disheartened that the government did not provide significant additional investments to support non-profit housing providers to deliver affordable housing.
WoodGreen has actively called on the federal government to accelerate and shift funding within the National Housing Strategy towards non-profit development projects that can effectively address the problem of housing for those experiencing homelessness, people with vulnerabilities like seniors, families with low incomes, and/or those with mental health conditions. One of the avenues for non-profit developers to replenish affordable housing is through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund, where WoodGreen has called for an increase in grant ratios. In Canada, it was estimated that for every new affordable housing unit created, fifteen existing affordable units were lost as reported between 2011 and 2016.
Given the current state of the housing market and the lack of affordable housing available, without additional investment in the National Co-investment Fund, non-profit housing providers will not be able to build housing for low-income Canadians.
We call on the federal government to reconsider this decision and provide necessary investment into the National Housing Co-Investment Fund. Non-profits need significant and low-cost upfront capital in order to create feasible development business plans and attract all levels of government and/or private partnerships to develop affordable housing. The government must support non-profit and affordable housing developers by returning the grant ratios through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund to their previous levels but not at the cost of renovation and repair of existing units.
ABOUT WOODGREEN COMMUNITY SERVICES (woodgreen.org): WoodGreen is one of the largest social service agencies in Toronto, serving 37,000 people each year. We offer over 75 programs and services tackling the social determinants that affect the health and well-being of individuals in our community.
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For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: Tureisha Hamlet, Manager, Public Relations & Corporate Communications; [email protected] (416) 277-2672 (cell)