With mortgage debts skyrocketing and a shifting demographic, affordable housing is quickly becoming an issue of national concern.
To address this problem, Mayor Malcolm Eaton recently attended a conference in Ottawa with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), other municipal leaders, and the federal government.
"The focus for the last few years has been on working with the federal government on an infrastructure program," said Eaton. "Now that that's moving forward, the issue has moved to housing. It's the next in line urgent need that we need to work on."
According to a report by the FCM, the federal government was investing $1.7 billion annually for Canada's 600,000 social housing units. Of that, about seven per cent was going toward Saskatchewan's social housing.
The dilemma is those subsidies will be expiring soon, which leaves approximately one-third of Saskatchewan's households at risk.
"We heard rumours that the federal government might discontinue that ($1.7 billion investment) to reduce the deficit and balance the budget," said Claude Dauphin, president of FCM. "We agree with wanting to reduce the deficit, but not at the cost of putting 300,000 families at risk of being homeless."
Statistically, the price of housing in Saskatchewan has increased by 43 per cent since 2001. Approximately one in four Canadians spend more than 30 per cent of their income on shelter, which is deemed as "more than they can afford" by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
FCM and participating municipalities are advocating for the government to continue their investment. Their goals are focused on creating a new partnership that consists of long-term plans for affordable housing in Canada (instead of their usual short-term programs). Thus far, many of the municipalities have adopted a resolution that declares their housing crunch issues.
"We're just one of many, many communities that are speaking up and saying this is an area we want to work on. This is something we want to work with the federal and provincial government on to solve some of the issues that housing is creating in the community," said Eaton.
The meetings are looking at all types of housing: rental, senior, low-income, etc. In Humboldt particularly, the focus is on senior and rental housing.
"It's a combination of both (a changing demographic and population growth)," said Eaton. "The senior housing thing is a part of what's going on with the changing demographic. We have an aging population; but it's also driven by the fact that there's a lot of growth. Lots of people are coming to town with new jobs and looking for a place to rent."
According to the same FCM report, one-third of Canadians rent units. Mortgage debt sits at $1.1 trillion nationwide, which is two-thirds of household debts.
"We're asking the government to sit down with FCM and other levels to find solutions," said Dauphin. "In the past 15 years, 90 per cent of funding was for condos or private homes. That's not for everyone, even if the interest rate is low."
Rather than two or three-year short-term plans, FCM is asking the government for long-term plans and investment, even if that's just a continuation of the $1.7 billion investment. Ideally, they would like to see something toward these goals in the 2014 budget. They also expect to see at least a concrete announcement by next year regarding these initiatives.
According to Dauphin, the most viable solution would be either grants or tax incentives for developers.
"It's a win-win solution. It's good for Canadians. There's less homelessness in our streets and it generates a strong economy for our workers," he said. "If we're not making good decisions in the next couple of months, we're in big trouble."
