Housing report ranks Peel among least affordable

A study released by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) last Thursday shows Peel's supply of affordable housing continues to slip, relative to other Canadian cities.

This is FCM's fourth report in a series exploring the quality of life in Canadian communities. Called Trends & Issues in Affordable Housing & Homelessness, the report shows a widening gap between housing costs and income growth, even for couples and two-parent families.

"Lack of affordable housing in the region has created a wait list of about 13,000 individuals and families for social housing," said Mississauga Regional Councillor Pat Mullin, chair of the Human Services Committee of regional council.

"That's a 21-year wait for most applicants," she added. "And in Peel, only about six per cent of applicants get into social housing each year - fewer than many municipalities in Ontario."

"The gap between affordable rent, commonly defined as 30 per cent or less of total household (income), and people's ability to pay is growing," Mullin observed. "Our own research shows half of social housing applicants spend more than 50 per cent of their income on housing. This is a serious burden for low-income individuals and families, a growing segment of our community that includes seniors, single-parent families and immigrants."

Among the troubling findings of FCM's report, Peel shares the distinction of having very few rental units in the construction pipeline. In cities such as Winnipeg, London, Montreal, Halifax and Gatineau, the share of rental units represents between 15 and 20 per cent of total construction, while Peel, York and Halton Region have almost none. Across Canada, between 2001 and 2006, fewer than nine per cent of all housing units completed in the largest cities were rental properties.

"If Regional council hadn't committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing, I believe we would have even more people accessing our homeless shelter programs," Mullin said.

Peel has built more than 400 rental units since 2004, using federal and provincial funds through the Affordable Housing Program, and is currently developing 269 new units, including two and three bedroom units through the program.

"The cost of housing is one of the factors influencing the growing need for emergency shelters and Peel is a good example of what the FCM is seeing across the country," Mullin observed. "There are now eight facilities in Peel to help individuals and families who become homeless; the Region operates three of them with a total of 314 available beds."

She added the characteristics of homelessness are becoming more wide-ranging and diverse, evolving from the traditional single middle-aged male (often associated with mental health and/or addictions) to increasingly youth and young families.

In 2006, Peel emergency shelters assisted 11,776 people, including 7,791 singles and 1,411 families which included 2,284 children. The Region provided a total of 111,812 bed-nights to these residents in 2006.

"There is a serious need for more affordable housing in Peel that must be addressed," Mullin commented. "I hope the FCM report will create a national dialogue aimed at helping Canadian Municipalities and the other levels of government to find solutions."