By I. Aagaard, Guest Contributor
Okay, I don’t know about you but for me some issues are conspicuously absent in this election campaign. They are:
(a) a total lack of vision regarding Canada and the kind of society we want and,
(b) tenants and the right to affordable housing.
Regarding (a) . . . I only wish to encourage each and every one of you to give serious thought to what kind of society you want for yourself and your children/future generations in this country. Think beyond your own immediate wants and needs and look to what really matters to you. For example, do you think a healthy, well-educated society matters to ensure we remain competitive globally and able to support the education and health care systems vital to our future? Tempting as it is to focus on your own immediate needs, I encourage all of you to look beyond those and give thoughts to the kind of Canada you want for your children and grandchildren and, by extension, for yourself in old age. Think about the kind of health care services, pension income, and affordable senior housing or nursing home care you want to see available to all.
Regarding (b) . . . affordable housing for all, not just the relative few who can afford to buy/own property but more so for the many who are forced to rent a place to live, I ask you to consider if this should be viewed as a universal right or merely a right for those who can afford to own property.
In case you’re not aware of this – CANADA IS THE ONLY WESTERN NATION THAT DOES NOT HAVE A NATIONAL HOUSING POLICY targetting renters. Tenants are left totally at the mercy of the capitalist market place. Landlords will charge whatever the market will bear. Only exception is subsidized housing which, in the GTA, covers only a small percentage of the total rental market and takes years to get into.
We are going to the polls in less than 4 weeks. It seems to me that NOW is the time to ask the political candidates just where they and their party stand on the issue of affordable housing as well as on implementing a national housing strategy in this country. Just about everything related to renting is skewed in favour of the landlord. Isn’t it time we changed this to make it a more level playing field?
Many scholarly papers have been written and many studies done on this. However, to me it boils down to how we view decent and affordable housing: Is it a fundamental human right or only something reserved for those who can afford to pay?
If you view affordable housing as a fundamental human right then you need to pressure the political parties into providing adequate funding for affordable housing and shift the focus and incentives of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), to not-for-profit housing co-ops and others who can help build and manage housing geared to income. Far too many Canadians pay significantly more than 25% – 30% of their income on housing. That is far more than what’s healthy for any family budget!
While land/property ownership is important to a healthy economy, it is quite unrealistic for many Canadians. Our current tax laws totally favour property owners with various benefits and tax breaks while doing nothing for tenants. This inequity must end now!
We also need to give thought to our current voting system “First Past The Post” (FPP) and how that system is in effect leaving many smaller groups and sectors of society, e.g. un-represented or under-represented tenants.
Thought should also be given to the fairness of various tax breaks, such as no capital gains tax on sale of primary residence, that’s currently available to homeowners. No similar or equivalent tax breaks are currently available to tenants.
Homeowners receive some security of investments during inflationary times (property values don’t generally drop). Not so for renters! They generally get hit with high rent increases.
Consider the fairness of this. Most of all, consider how you view the right to a decent place to live at an affordable price.
Get informed and vote accordingly!
East York Tenants Group 
I’m impressed and also happy to see that East York now has a site that others can go to for information. The builders of this site have done a good job . . . well done!. The only thing I would like to see is a place that tenants can list the Names of both the Property Owners and their Property Manager who refuses to comply with the Building Standards Act not just the Toronto Building Code but the Provincial Building Codes also The Heath Act. The Building Inspectors of East York from what I have seen are not doing their Job’s to help Tenants but to help the Building managers and Owners. I live in a Building on Dawes Rd. The building has improper repairs and at this time no Heat, even though the Law says the Heat is to be on by Sept.15th, called the Building Bylaw Dept for East York for three days straight did not go they refuse to act on the matter. Well I think the City of Toronto Mayor should take a look at the Inspectors who work in MLS and find out why they are refusing to act on a complaint. I have also noticed all files against the Building where I’m live has been Closed but repairs are not to Code. The Building has people from all walks of Life here and as far as I can see they are treated like lower then second class here. For the ones that know the Building and are looking I would tell you to look else where, those who are here I would say if you are not willing to fight for where you are living and bring the building up to Code I would say just for a new place to live. I’m not far from looking but I’m not going to let the Landlords get away with what they are doing, High Rent for Low class units is unfair and not right.
I was also amazed when I read about this. This particular issue was discussed in a research bulletin published by the Centre for Urban and Community Studies in September 2007. The title of the bulletin was “Canada’s Dual Housing Policy – Assisting Owners, Neglecting Renters” and was written by J. David Hulchanski …… here is the direct quote “Canada’s housing system, unlike that of most Western nations, relies almost exclusively on the market mechanism for the provision, allocation, and maintenance of housing. This is a problem for households too poor to pay market rents for appropriate housing. These households generate a ‘social need’ for housing rather than a ‘market demand’ for it. A housing system based on the market mechanism cannot respond to social need.”
Check this link to read the complete bulletin: http://www.urbancentre.utoronto.ca/pdfs/researchbulletins/CUCSRB38Hulchanski.pdf
**Early in the summer this issue was also covered in The Star . . .
‘Housing plan missing’
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/459026
What? I didn’t even know that Canada is the only western nation that doesn’t have a national affordable housing policy. I wonder if the political election candidates know? If they don’t, it’s about time they know and make it an issue in their campaign and let us know what they are going to do about it.
The guest contributor has done a superb job in making us aware of the desperate need that exist for affordable housing. Now, it is our responsibility and our right to demand that the candidates should give this issue their at most attention. I think as voters, when canvassers come and knock our door to hand us their pamphlet we should ask: “Does the candidate’s pamphlet or political agenda include a national affordable housing?” If doesn’t, we should express our concern or go even to the extent of refusing to accept their pamphlet. That could be the only way they would understand that there is a desperate need for affordable housing in this country.
To all you concerned citizens: I invite you to join the guest contributor and express your concern on this blog.
I also invite the political candidates to express their thoughts on this subject on this blog, so that we voters know where they stand.
Re: MISSING: Housing Policy in Federal Elections
This post was excellent and resonated strongly with me as it looked beyond the concerns of East York tenants and to what Canada could be if we had leaders with vision. It has been so long since we have had leaders with vision. Within recent memory all we have had are ‘announcements’ about funding this or funding that, so much so it is fair to dub the leader of our country as “Mr. Announcement”. How about policy? You build policy around principles that you believe in and not around polls . . . or maybe I got it all wrong!
Great that you emphasized the need for ‘affordable housing’ as we renters are in need of an affordable and sustainable housing policy.