Toronto city council sells off public housing

by Paul Denison

Toronto City Council has approved the sale of 22 homes owned by the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC).

Tenants, housing advocates and councillors opposed to the sale have voiced fears that this is only the beginning, as this sale was based on a recommendation to sell off over 900 single homes owned by TCHC; others have suggested going further and selling even more TCHC housing stock.

The evicted tenants have been promised other TCHC units but this will further delay some of the 78,604 households already on TCHC wait lists who are facing an estimated 10 to 15 year wait time.

City Council says the sell off is necessary to pay for needed repairs. It is true that much TCHC housing stock is run down, but this is a direct result of the Mike Harris Tory government’s 1998 downloading of public housing to the city without also providing funding. Maintenance and staffing were cut with predictable results.

All of these cuts are presented in the context of “we have no choice”—but there is a choice. There has been a longstanding call from housing advocates for a federal housing strategy to restore funding from provincial and federal levels of government.

Over the last several years, provincial and federal governments have provided some money for maintenance but only as a response to pressure from housing advocates and the general public. We must keep the pressure on our governments to stop cutting funding to fundamental public services.

For more information, visit tenantsforsocialhousing.com.