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HP OPINION HOUSING AND INCOME CRISIS AT CRITICAL JUNCTURE THESE MUST BE TOP PRIORITIES FOR THIS ELECTION, WRITES KIM JENKINSON KIM JENKINSON Column The Ontario election is underway, the stock mar- ket is crashing, COVID policies have abated — if not coviD itself — and Ontario, Canada and the rest oft the world is facing a housing crisis. Ukraine is under at- tack, Yemen continues to be persecuted and Israel and Gaza are still lobbing missiles at each other. The rorld is facing a crisis, ity is under conetant pressure and no time in history has it been more important to work together to try to alleviate some of the big issues. Housing and income are two of those big issues. Everyone needs safe hous- is a basic right, and sufficient income to sus- tain it. Housing affordability has rocketed out of reach for so many in just the past ears. Not only is owning a home now impossible for many people, but renting something on your own is also now out of reach fora large number of ween including seniors, you adults and students fresh out of college. “Not only is owning a home now impossible for many people, but renting something on your own is also now out of reach for a large number of people.” If you are a low income wage earner, if you are not already 1 living somewhere with a mable rent 01 ity you Tose your housing i in e increasing number of “renovictions," your fami- lycan auickly fall into our already very vulnerable social Safety net, which it- self is in crisis and unable to keep up with the never ending requests for help. Now bring in an inter- national perspective. Imag- ine coming froma war-torn country, not speaking En- glish, and receiving 90 days of basic income support. You need to start work- ing immediately to sup- port yourself and your family. You had a good job at home, but with no En- glish and no understand- ing of the Canadian job market, you'll be lucky to get what is called a “sur- vivaljob" by newcomers — likely manual labour and shift york in a factory or warehou: Not to mention that to get that job you are going to need someone to watch your kids. You've left fami- ly behind, probably your husband and your broth- ers as they have been con- scripted to fight, and you pray for their safety every minute of every e living wi dis stant “cousin who. you have never, ted a and top mete eh other. suifocat. ins a house made for one. This is the current sto- ry of the Ukrainians arriv- ing in Canada. The provincial govern- mentisin theory responsi- ble for housing, employ- ment and income, some of which was downloaded to ions and munici- feder: ment ‘has ease flirted with the idea of basic in- come, but for whatever reason it didn't happen — much to the sorrow of the social services and low in- come families across Can- ada. And despite there being provincial and federal ~ a Fy 3 a v i housing investment strat: egies in place, the pro- grams to access the money Z complex and that getting a project un- derway takes major assets © 3 before you can even start 5 those discussions. 8 ie coming provin- cial election, please ask your candidates: "How are you going to work together with other levels of government to successfully move us for- ward on income and hous- ing security given these are he probe mandates?" ig problems can be solved only by working to- gether, and thai all levels of our politi- cians. im Jenkinson is the executive director of the Halton Multicultural Council. She can be reached at kjenkin- son@hmcconnections.com. ONTARIO DESERVES A REAL ast fall, a report by On- auditor general where near on track to Since Doug Ford took of- fice, his government has dragged Ontario back- wards on its climate and gets, and the provincial govern- ment is expected to achieve only 20 per cent of prom- ised CO2 reductions by pol Ford fought hard against the federal govern- ment's carbon price, de- spite the fact that Nobel e-winning economists ACTA AA a es FIREWORKS NIGHTLY AT 10PM STARTING MAY 20 ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMPION have endorsed a price on carbon as a cheap and ef- fective way to reduce emis- sions. Ford spent millions on anti-carbon tax stickers at gas pumps across the prov- ince and took the govern- ment all the way to the Su- preme Court of Canada to repeal it — and lost. Ford also scrapped the rebate for electric vehicles, making it harder and less affordable for people to buy major highways, Highway 413 and the Bradford By- pass, which would both pave over ecologically sen- sitive wetlands and parts of the Gr conbelt _including prime farmland in Ontario. at ane would be better spent on public tran- sit instead. Last month, the Halton Catholic School Board de- clared a climate emergen- cy. Young people deserve to grow upina world thatisas clean, safe and beautiful as it was when their parents grew up. They deserve so much better than Doug CALVIN BEAUCHESNE iETOWN SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA #EXPLORE NIAGARA BOOK YOUR OVERNIGHT AT NIAGARAFALLSTOURISM.COM