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The following are just a few of the articles and features we're working on for thé March 30th Edition of The Canadian Statesman: "KARATE KID"... Qualifies for Canadian Championships. EAGLES WATCH... Will the Jr. C. Goodyear Eagles clinch the Quarter-Finals? EASTER SEAL CAMPAIGN... A chat with this year's Easter Seals Tammy. JOBS, JOBS, JOBS... MPP announces government's plan to help youths land summer jobs. The Canadian Statesman "Your Business Partner, Neighbour and Friend Since 1854" 62 King St. W., Bowmanville 623-3303 The Independent, Canadian Statesman Weekender, Bowmanville, Saturday, March 26,1994 25 Non-Profit Housing Best Way To Provide Affordable Homes bv Gord Mills MPP "mystery" writer claims they were, niirkam Now I want to turn to Non-Profit mirnam uasi Housing which the "mystery" writer I am taking his opportunity to re- . termed B as a waste 0 f money. The spend to the wstety water who .. mysteI y. man OT woman sug . penned last week s article m the In- ^ ^ articl ^ it wou f d dependent, Canadian Statesman ^ ^tter not t0 spcnd money on TT t „.,v e ' bricks and mortar but rather by direct Housing Gets Billion subsidy which would allow those people to choose from the vast stock disap- r - v Canadian Weekender under the "Non-Profit Housing Gets Dollar Boast from NDP The housing crisis hasn't AI ~ " 1 uiaa r of vacant houses and apartments for peared. It continues, and now one in rpnt arrnce fhp nrnvinr / four renters spend over 30 per cent of household income on rent. So, what's Housing Minister Warns Government Not to Drop National Housing Plan Ontario Housing Minister Evelyn couraged that it's come to this," said Gigantes has called on the federal Gigantes. government to reconsider its decision "Ontario is one of the few prov- to develop no new non-profit hous- j nces that has its own social housing mg. The last new non-profit homes to programs," Ms. Gigantes said, be built with joint federal govern- "We've remained committed to nomment nomment funding were announced today, proflt housing. We're in the midst of marking the end of more than 40 delivering our jobsOntario Homes, a 20,000-unit nonprofit housing pror gram, which will provide housing to families, seniors, people with disabilities disabilities and aboriginal people living off- the solution? Let's start by considering considering the shelter allowance program. The government pays the difference between what the tenant can afford and what the landlord charges for rent. Advantages? Well, it's quick. It's an immediate solution that fills an immediate need. We know that. It's why this government already operates operates a shelter allowance program. It's a good, short-term remedy for some housing needs. t Disadvantages? First, the program is expensive. In 1988, it cost just over $500 million each year. By 1992, the cost had jumped to $2.5 billion. That's an increase of 500 per cent over four years, arid more than four times what was spent on non-profit housing in 1992. And the cost of shelter allowances will only keep going going up. Should we continue to put all our housing dollars into subsidizing private apartments? The second drawback is its impact on the private rental market as a whole. One quarter of the rent money collected by Ontario's private sector landlords is currently funded by tax- rent across the province. Through the non-profit program, the government guarantees mortgages mortgages for the construction and operation of rental housing units. The housing itself is owned and managed by groups, such as Legions, Churches, and in some cases by Unions. These groups see a need for affordable housing in the communities they live in, they do the planning, secure mortgage mortgage guarantees from the govem- . ment, arrange for construction, and, once units are built, manage them with provincial operating subsidies. Not surprisingly, the early years of operation require relatively large government subsidies since they have to cover construction and mortgage costs as well as the daily costs of running running the building. It's very misleading misleading for the,"mystery" writer to focus attention on the costs of the immediate immediate operation. What isn't mentioned is that costs go down over the years as the mortgage is paid off. Spending on shelter allowances, on the other hand, tends to increase from year to year. Need proof? During the 1060's payers through shelter allowances. In and 70's, when the Ontario Housing effect, a shelter allowance program Corporation financed housing for gives the landlord an ongoing gov- low-income residents, developers and emment subsidy month after month, landlord associations made the same year after year. There's quite an in- arguments as they do today: "Build- centive for landlords to charge the ing is too expensive - a better use of highest rent possible if they can look public money would be to subsidize to the taxpayers to pay the rent. By rents in the private market." Today, supporting the lower end of the rental 30 years later, the average operating market, shelter allowances inflate the subsidy for one of the provincially- workers would be out of work, just makes good economic sense. The private sector is not interested in building affordable rental accommodation. accommodation. The profit margin isn't high enough. And the reason is not rent control or government housing programs. British Columbia has neither neither arid building of rental units is almost almost nil. A couple of years ago, I opened a non-profit housing unit in Orillia for the Minister of Housing. Many of those new residents had tears in their eyes as they explained how happy they were to get a decent place to live, to pay a rent that allowed them to buy their children decent clothes, and above all, to allow their children to live like other more affluent children children do. Some of the residents there that day were people with physical and developmental disabilities, and they told me just how hard it was for them to obtain suitable housing. The "mystery" writer completely misses the point for '-building nonprofit nonprofit housing, which is to provide decent housing that is there decade after decade for those who need it, whatever their economic situation. We are investing in non-profit housing housing so the public has a lasting investment investment to show for what is spent. If the "Mystery Writer" can't be identified then I say don't comment on anything. Editor's Note: The "Mystery Writer" you refer to was Mike Harris, Provincial Progressive Conservative Leader. Our apologies for omitting his by-line from the article. Watch I Kti? fiVsp/ The Easter Seal Telethon years of federal government involvement involvement in social housing. "This is the end of Canada's national national housing program," said Gigantes. Gigantes. "The federal government has been providing social housing since World War II. I'm sorry to be wit- f nessing the end of an era of providing f decent, affordable housing to Canadians." Canadians." At a press conference at Hamilton's Hamilton's Housing Help Centre, Gigantes said announcing the final 2,000 units of federal-provincial social housing was "a bittersweet occasion." "The federal government needs to he taking a leadership role in housing now more than ever. The recession has hit Ontario very hard. There are now almost 400,000 households in Ontario living in overcrowded, inadequate inadequate housing or housing they cannot afford," said Gigantes. "Social housing is an important part of meeting the need that's out there. It creates jobs and provides decent, decent, affordable housing that lasts for generations to come. It makes good' economic sense, particularly now when it's less expensive to build and interest rates are low," said Gigantes. In 1993, the Conservative government government cancelled Canada's national social social housing programs. At that time, housing ministers from across the country called for the reinstatement of the program. ' Gigantes said it was hoped that a change in government might lead to renewed federal involvement in social social housing. However, the recent federal budget did not reverse the decision decision of the previous government. "Ontario has lost 9,000 units annually annually and $266 million over the past five years of federal cuts to housing. That translates into more than 33,000 jobs. We were very hopeful that the change of government would mean a change in the housing policy. I'm dis- reserve. private rental market for all tenants. Finally, and most significantly, shelter allowances alone do nothing to increase the supply of affordable housing. Even if we filled all the vacant vacant units in the private rental market, market, we still couldn't meet today's need in most places. When you consider consider all points carefully, shelter allowances allowances aren't the panacea the built units is $280 a month. Contrast that with the average shelter subsidy for a private rental unit now-$460 a month. Non-profit housing is a good deal for taxpayers in the long run. To build now, with land prices and construction construction costs along with interest rates all down, and taking into account account that without non-profit housing construction, many construction Sumlnv, March" 27. 1991 9 n.m. -- K p.m. CBC ijçi 1 Television mwl nfflllwte stations Donate to The Eatter Seal Society ami build a brighter tomorrow for Ontario « children with phytical ditabililies. Every Smart Business Owner Knows That the Key to Greater Profits is to... 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