News and tips for HSC Insurance Program Participants

Information on the background of the program, coverage types, benefits for housing providers and service managers, and risk management services.

Latest newsletter for investors in the Social Housing Investment Program.

You may download the PDF file at the following link: http://www.globeservices.ca/index.php/get-informed/sustainability-toolbox/

The Needs Assessment identifies common challenges faced by the community housing sector in maintaining and improving their physical assets.

Latest issue of Social Housing Times newsletter with articles on the Housing Services Act, social media and resident engagement, and more.

These templates will help you forecast changes in your Net Operating Income (NOI) to better understand the financial implications of expiring operating agreements: • Template for single-project providers

These templates will help you forecast changes in your Net Operating Income (NOI) to better understand the financial implications of expiring operating agreements: • Template for multi-project providers

The Social Housing Resource Committee (SHRC), a group of 20 provider and property management representatives across Ontario, has developed a series of free templates to assist non-profits with tendering property management agreements.   Note: Co-operative housing providers should contact the Co-operative housing Federation of Canada to access templates designed specifically for co-ops.   The Tendering Guide includes: Guide to Tendering (PDF) Bid Package: Standard Invitation Letter Template (DOC) Bid Package: Request for Proposals Template (DOC) Big Package: Management Agreement Template (DOC) Appendix: Evaluating Bids (PDF) Download

This paper investigates economies of scale to determine the optimum size for a non-profit housing provider in Ontario by examining Canadian and international examples.

The Special Priority Policy (SPP) Impact Study looks at how the SPP affects social housing in Ontario. The first phase of the study, produced by a research task force that included HSC, examines the impact of the SPP on housing trends among different groups of people in various parts of Ontario - looking at waiting list totals, times, housing placement and demand by the different types of people who apply.

Addressing the Challenges and Opportunities of a Post-Operating Agreement World in Social Housing   This paper provides 10 case studies from across Canada, which reflects the diversity of social housing programs, funding arrangements and differing size and location of social housing providers themselves. The case studies provide a background on the provider, the nature and extent to which they undertook pre-planning activities prior to expiry, what the current situation looks like and what they are expecting the future to hold. Out of these case studies several recommendations are made which form a starting point in fostering a national dialogue about next steps.

This collaboratively developed report, prepared as part of the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review process, identifies issues and develops a consensus on the means of turning social housing from a perceived liability into a true public asset.

This report is an exciting culmination of stakeholder input gleaned from the HSC’s 2008 Ideas into Action Consultation process that focused on new ways to Ontario’s social housing sector.

- David Wachsmuth As Ontario comes to rely increasingly on immigration to fuel economic and demographic growth, the question of how to effectively house newcomers is gaining importance. Most academic and policy research in Canada has focused on Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, but so-called “second-tier” cities such as Ottawa, Hamilton and Windsor now accept almost one in five new Ontarians and the proportion is growing each year. This report examines the challenges medium-sized cities face in housing immigrants and the current and potential policy responses.

- Abigail Friendly Despite high levels of economic prosperity in Canada, food insecurity is increasingly being recognized as an issue that lacks a coherent policy response at both federal and local levels. The concentration of low-income populations in social housing makes the problem especially acute for social housing residents and providers. The purpose of this report is to help develop food security policy, with a specific focus on social housing providers in Canadian cities. The report concludes with community food security (CFS) policy recommendations aimed at social housing providers in Canadian cities.

-Ross Fraser, Housemark, U.K. Housing organizations in the United Kingdom are increasingly aware of the merits of employing performance management systems in order to ensure that high quality services are supplied to their tenants. This paper sets out best practices as identified by HouseMark, based on the activities of 600 of their members and the specific consultancy advice they offer to organizations seeking to raise their game in this area. It draws upon two successful performance management systems. The best designed performance management system fails if it is not properly managed.

-Nicholas Gazzard, Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada Today co-op housing is home to some 250,000 people in Canada and plays a key role in providing affordable housing solutions for Canadians. Challenges and emerging priorities for co-op housing include the aging housing stock; governance and management; demographic shifts; energy conservation and a secure place for co-op development in the current policy environment due to a lack of dedication of co-op housing from the federal government.

- Steven Lewis, Access Consulting Ltd. This paper reviews the theory and practice of accreditation, and outlines its potential benefits and unintended consequences. Accreditation can be helpful and if the social housing sector decides to pursue this path, it may be worth thinking about a number of issues that will arise in the course of determining the core purposes, the nature and breadth of the services to be accredited, and the indicators to be measured.

-Sharad Kerur, Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association   With the devolution of housing to the municipal level, and no significant housing interest or investment in the past 12 years from either the provincial or federal governments, the human capital supply of housing providers is again and diminishing with no signs of improvement unless some sort of renewal strategy is developed and implemented. Another dynamic at play is that as the provincial housing administration continues to devolve to 47 service managers, the ration of administrative expertise to front-line housing management expertise is also shifting. This means that the sector is more top-heavy and the pool of human capital with front-line housing development and management skills is shrinking, relative to the pool of trained administrators.

-Colin Gage, Victoria Park Community Homes   A recent study of Non-profit Voluntary Organizations conducted by Statistics Canada identified that the majority of participants are having problems fulfilling their missions and achieving their organization’s objectives due, in part, to problems recruiting volunteers. The issue is one of demographics but it appears that Canadians are connecting less with others, reaching out less often to help others. We as a sector have to develop a strategy to advertise the need for volunteers.

-Duncan Maclennan, Institute of Governance, University of Ottawa

This report, prepared as part of the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review process, speaks to 3 key areas related to income-redistribution and social housing which harm both tenants and municipalities: the $175 million municipal subsidy paid to subsidize the rents of OW/ODSP clients living in social housing, the program disincentives which dissuade tenants from full-time employment, and the need for better service integration between and within levels of government. The resourcefulness of our social housing residents should not be underestimated. Ontario can lead the way in transforming social housing to communities of hope and livelihood.

- Sally Turner, York University This research project analyzes the contribution of private non-profit (PNP) organizations to Toronto’s subsidized housing system, and identifies some of the most significant barriers they face. It is found that PNP organizations make a large contribution to Toronto’s subsidized housing system, particularly through their dedication to holistic care. As primarily small-scale organizations however, they face significant barriers which could potentially be reduced through increased, more flexible funding at all levels of government, and greater communication to ensure that programs adequately and appropriately address the needs of PNP housing providers.

- Jeff May, York University This paper analyzes the theoretical and practical implications of whether living in social housing has positive or negative effects on the ability of residents to gain access to other essential social services (education, health care, immigration services, childcare, and other). The concepts of social inclusion, integration of services, and connectivity of people to services in Toronto are analyzed. The primary findings of this research indicate that people do achieve connectivity but get it through less formal channels such as neighbourhood social networks. This paper concludes with some implications of this research for policy, which include suggestions that still more practical integration of services is needed and that more could be made of pre-existing social networks that allow for connectivity to services.

- Joël Thibert, McGill University This research project describes and analyzes the policy, planning and design processes that led to the creation of three recent socially-mixed projects in the regions of Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. There is general agreement that social inclusion is an important goal for social housing sustainability. It is also well-established that the realization of socially-mixed projects is generally more complex. It is recommended, among other things that local governments take an active role in ensuring a “proper mix” at the project level without using coercive measures and that the experience of providers and consultants be considered in project selection and transmitted more effectively.

- Mary Pitt, McGill University   This research explores the link between the theory, policy and practice of energy-efficient social housing. The theory addresses the general question of “What is energy-efficient housing?”, and “Why is it that not all social housing is energy efficient?” Current policy and programs in Ontario are reviewed to discover what current incentives and opportunities there are for enhancing the energy efficiency of affordable housing. The practice in Ottawa is examined and used to inform policy recommendations for Ontario. The report finishes with general conclusions of how theory, policy and practice overlap, and suggest further avenues for research.

- Allison Jones, University of British Columbia Low-income seniors’ ability to age at home, with supports available to accommodate their changing needs, is an issue of critical importance to all Canadians. This research investigates housing and care options for low-income seniors in Ontario. The report focuses on supportive housing for low-income seniors who can no longer function entirely independently due to declining health. Seniors’ supportive housing programs in British Columbia provide a provincial example of seniors’ support services and social housing integration. Policy recommendations are offered.

This paper expands on the CHRA paper “Was Chicken Little Right? Case Studies on the Impact of Expiring Social Housing Operating Agreements” and explores the possible outcomes of expiring subsidy agreements between housing providers and funders within Ontario.

News and tips for HSC Insurance Program Participants

Information on the background of the program, coverage types, benefits for housing providers and service managers, and risk management services.

Latest newsletter for investors in the Social Housing Investment Program.

You may download the PDF file at the following link: http://www.globeservices.ca/index.php/get-informed/sustainability-toolbox/

The Needs Assessment identifies common challenges faced by the community housing sector in maintaining and improving their physical assets.

Latest issue of Social Housing Times newsletter with articles on the Housing Services Act, social media and resident engagement, and more.

This paper investigates economies of scale to determine the optimum size for a non-profit housing provider in Ontario by examining Canadian and international examples.

The Special Priority Policy (SPP) Impact Study looks at how the SPP affects social housing in Ontario. The first phase of the study, produced by a research task force that included HSC, examines the impact of the SPP on housing trends among different groups of people in various parts of Ontario - looking at waiting list totals, times, housing placement and demand by the different types of people who apply.

Addressing the Challenges and Opportunities of a Post-Operating Agreement World in Social Housing   This paper provides 10 case studies from across Canada, which reflects the diversity of social housing programs, funding arrangements and differing size and location of social housing providers themselves. The case studies provide a background on the provider, the nature and extent to which they undertook pre-planning activities prior to expiry, what the current situation looks like and what they are expecting the future to hold. Out of these case studies several recommendations are made which form a starting point in fostering a national dialogue about next steps.

This paper provides a brief overview of the social housing system in Canada.

The objective of this study is to determine what options and specific ways of structuring debt may exist for the refinancing/recapitalizing of existing social housing projects to provide the capital needed for major capital repairs, intensification and/or energy efficiency upgrades.

In 2009 HSC released a comprehensive study to examine the extent of capital repair shortfalls across Ontario’s social housing portfolio. The outcomes featured in this report demonstrate the need for investment in social housing, as well as key solutions and investments that senior levels of government, and the social housing sector itself, can put in place over the next few years.

This collaboratively developed report, prepared as part of the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review process, identifies issues and develops a consensus on the means of turning social housing from a perceived liability into a true public asset.

This report is an exciting culmination of stakeholder input gleaned from the HSC’s 2008 Ideas into Action Consultation process that focused on new ways to Ontario’s social housing sector.

- Suzanne Swanton   Growing social housing wait lists suggest that existing social housing supply and programs are not a solution to immediate or foreseeable housing problems for most low-income households. As a result, many households turn to shelters or make do with what they are able to find in the private market, often spending more than 50% of their income on rent. This study focuses on one-person households under the age of 65 who make up approximately 40% of the applicants on Ontario social housing wait lists. This cohort has the longest wait times. The study concludes with policy recommendations to address rural-urban housing issues for this demographic.

- Nick Falvo The emergent Housing First model, which focused on new means of rapid rehousing of the homeless, is popular in North America among policy-makers and the mass media. This report begins by discussing the Housing First model as it has evolved in the United States context. Turning to the main focus of this research, the paper then documents, analyzes and interprets Canada’s version of Housing First, Toronto’s Streets to Homes (S2H) program. The report concludes with recommendations about how to both improve S2H and ensure that Housing First programs in other Canadian cities are effective in housing homeless persons.

- Carla Schuk In the early 1990’s decentralization of social housing programs from federal to provincial governments was implemented in an effort to reduce federal budget costs. These services were further decentralized down to municipalities in Ontario in 2001, but remained centralized in other provinces such as British Columbia. Decentralization was promoted as a way to streamline housing programs and increase the efficiency of implementation through local governments addressing local housing issues. This report explores both centralized and decentralized housing models in British Columbia and Ontario and examines how theoretical models have been adapted to overcome the trade-offs associated with them.

- Helen Looker In April 2005, the federal and Ontario governments jointly invested $734 million in the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program (COAHP) with more than $28 million dedicated to the COAHP Homeownership Component. The COAHP was implemented to help 20,000 low to moderate income households make the transition from renting, to home ownership through assisted down payments. This paper assesses the variable uptake of the COAHP Homeownership Component and critically analyzes the presumption that home ownership represents a necessarily positive trajectory for low and middle income Canadian households.

- Arif Jinha   In January 2009 the federal government had allocated about $2 billion toward social housing. This level of spending was a reversal of the platforms of all parties running and part of a global response of economic stimulus spending to pump prime economies. This paper provides an early look at the significance of the recession and stimulus spending to affordable housing in Ontario.

In anticipation of the Minister’s 2009 affordable housing consultations HSC commissioned this paper. It emphasizes sustainability in the housing sector, regulatory requirements, and housing programs which shape the production of new affordable housing.

Unlike many other social services, social housing is a sector that must battle with the perception that its value must be substantiated. This paper outlines data and research strategies to cast new light on the wider social and economic value of social housing.

- David Wachsmuth As Ontario comes to rely increasingly on immigration to fuel economic and demographic growth, the question of how to effectively house newcomers is gaining importance. Most academic and policy research in Canada has focused on Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, but so-called “second-tier” cities such as Ottawa, Hamilton and Windsor now accept almost one in five new Ontarians and the proportion is growing each year. This report examines the challenges medium-sized cities face in housing immigrants and the current and potential policy responses.

- Abigail Friendly Despite high levels of economic prosperity in Canada, food insecurity is increasingly being recognized as an issue that lacks a coherent policy response at both federal and local levels. The concentration of low-income populations in social housing makes the problem especially acute for social housing residents and providers. The purpose of this report is to help develop food security policy, with a specific focus on social housing providers in Canadian cities. The report concludes with community food security (CFS) policy recommendations aimed at social housing providers in Canadian cities.

- Alex Moskalyk The goals of this research are, first, to review and conduct original research on the role currently played by public-private partnerships (PPPs) in sustainable social housing development in Canada and, second, to explore policy options and assess their potential for funding social housing. This paper explains the function that governments and the private sector can play in enhancing and optimizing the role of PPP development. This report ends with policy recommendations that may support future program initiatives that encourage PPP-based social housing in Canada.

-Gabriel F. Sekaly, Institute of Public Administration of Canada The developed world’s population is aging and the first wave of baby boomers is in their 60’s. While the baby boomers may look forward to retirement adventures and rewards, public sector organizations face the challenge of renewing the workforce and transferring knowledge from one generation to the next. Active recruitment, promoting the value of public service continuous learning and frameworks as opposed to new rules are a few ideas for public sector organization to enhance recruitment and retention.

-Malcolm Morley, Harlow Town, U.K. Performance management attempts to find out if the customers are happy and if the business is generating a growing and profitable cash flow representing an acceptable return on investment and finally if the banks and shareholders are happy. In the public sector performance management is more complex and in England there has been a series of initiatives to encourage public sector organizations to measure and manage performance more effectively. This paper seeks to explore performance management, its challenges, opportunities and implications. Effective performance management provides the potential for organizations to fly.

-Ross Fraser, Housemark, U.K. This paper focuses on regulation of rent in England. Some of the discussion is relevant to other parts of the United Kingdom. This paper focus on five key areas: a) business case for regulation of rented housing; b) regulation of social rented housing; c) regulation of private rented housing; d) effectiveness of different approaches to regulation; and e) current review of social housing regulation in England. The regulator should develop a range of ways of triggering interventions in consultation with providers and with the national tenant voice.

-Ross Fraser, Housemark, U.K. Housing organizations in the United Kingdom are increasingly aware of the merits of employing performance management systems in order to ensure that high quality services are supplied to their tenants. This paper sets out best practices as identified by HouseMark, based on the activities of 600 of their members and the specific consultancy advice they offer to organizations seeking to raise their game in this area. It draws upon two successful performance management systems. The best designed performance management system fails if it is not properly managed.

-Nicholas Gazzard, Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada Today co-op housing is home to some 250,000 people in Canada and plays a key role in providing affordable housing solutions for Canadians. Challenges and emerging priorities for co-op housing include the aging housing stock; governance and management; demographic shifts; energy conservation and a secure place for co-op development in the current policy environment due to a lack of dedication of co-op housing from the federal government.

- Steven Lewis, Access Consulting Ltd. This paper reviews the theory and practice of accreditation, and outlines its potential benefits and unintended consequences. Accreditation can be helpful and if the social housing sector decides to pursue this path, it may be worth thinking about a number of issues that will arise in the course of determining the core purposes, the nature and breadth of the services to be accredited, and the indicators to be measured.

-Duncan Maclennan, Institute of Governance, University of Ottawa

This paper, prepared as part of the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review process, analyzes the scope of the capital reserve problem and argues for a capital infusion to revitalize an asset which materially affects both tenants and our communities. Borrowing options are reviewed and suggestions made to remove unnecessary barriers or legislative impediments. It provides a range of options for consideration, but also recognizes that our federal government must re-engage in the business of housing in order to ensure Canada is economically competitive.

This paper, prepared as part of the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review process, describes the capital shortfalls in social housing in the City of Toronto. As service manager, the City of Toronto is ultimately responsible for the state of good repair of over 87,000 units. Proposed solutions include a mix of new financial and revenue tools, sector efficiencies and revitalization, and a renewed commitment by senior levels of government to support housing as a key economic lever.

This report, prepared as part of the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review process, speaks to 3 key areas related to income-redistribution and social housing which harm both tenants and municipalities: the $175 million municipal subsidy paid to subsidize the rents of OW/ODSP clients living in social housing, the program disincentives which dissuade tenants from full-time employment, and the need for better service integration between and within levels of government. The resourcefulness of our social housing residents should not be underestimated. Ontario can lead the way in transforming social housing to communities of hope and livelihood.

- Sally Turner, York University This research project analyzes the contribution of private non-profit (PNP) organizations to Toronto’s subsidized housing system, and identifies some of the most significant barriers they face. It is found that PNP organizations make a large contribution to Toronto’s subsidized housing system, particularly through their dedication to holistic care. As primarily small-scale organizations however, they face significant barriers which could potentially be reduced through increased, more flexible funding at all levels of government, and greater communication to ensure that programs adequately and appropriately address the needs of PNP housing providers.

- Jeff May, York University This paper analyzes the theoretical and practical implications of whether living in social housing has positive or negative effects on the ability of residents to gain access to other essential social services (education, health care, immigration services, childcare, and other). The concepts of social inclusion, integration of services, and connectivity of people to services in Toronto are analyzed. The primary findings of this research indicate that people do achieve connectivity but get it through less formal channels such as neighbourhood social networks. This paper concludes with some implications of this research for policy, which include suggestions that still more practical integration of services is needed and that more could be made of pre-existing social networks that allow for connectivity to services.

- Michel Molgat Sereacki, Université de Montréal This research paper analyzes potential avenues for strengthening housing governance through the collaboration between levels of government. The paper constructs an analytical framework for examining cases from Manitoba, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The lessons from the three cases echo important elements from the literature highlighting considerations for future endeavours; most notable is the importance of good design, an adequate political, material and financial support to the success of a project or initiative. Among the recommendations made, it is important that the federal and provincial governments take a more proactive role in strengthening the link between housing and their respective policy directions.

- Joël Thibert, McGill University This research project describes and analyzes the policy, planning and design processes that led to the creation of three recent socially-mixed projects in the regions of Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. There is general agreement that social inclusion is an important goal for social housing sustainability. It is also well-established that the realization of socially-mixed projects is generally more complex. It is recommended, among other things that local governments take an active role in ensuring a “proper mix” at the project level without using coercive measures and that the experience of providers and consultants be considered in project selection and transmitted more effectively.

- Mary Pitt, McGill University   This research explores the link between the theory, policy and practice of energy-efficient social housing. The theory addresses the general question of “What is energy-efficient housing?”, and “Why is it that not all social housing is energy efficient?” Current policy and programs in Ontario are reviewed to discover what current incentives and opportunities there are for enhancing the energy efficiency of affordable housing. The practice in Ottawa is examined and used to inform policy recommendations for Ontario. The report finishes with general conclusions of how theory, policy and practice overlap, and suggest further avenues for research.

- Allison Jones, University of British Columbia Low-income seniors’ ability to age at home, with supports available to accommodate their changing needs, is an issue of critical importance to all Canadians. This research investigates housing and care options for low-income seniors in Ontario. The report focuses on supportive housing for low-income seniors who can no longer function entirely independently due to declining health. Seniors’ supportive housing programs in British Columbia provide a provincial example of seniors’ support services and social housing integration. Policy recommendations are offered.

This paper expands on the CHRA paper “Was Chicken Little Right? Case Studies on the Impact of Expiring Social Housing Operating Agreements” and explores the possible outcomes of expiring subsidy agreements between housing providers and funders within Ontario.

The objective of this study is to determine what options and specific ways of structuring debt may exist for the refinancing/recapitalizing of existing social housing projects to provide the capital needed for major capital repairs, intensification and/or energy efficiency upgrades.

This collaboratively developed report, prepared as part of the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review process, identifies issues and develops a consensus on the means of turning social housing from a perceived liability into a true public asset.

This report is an exciting culmination of stakeholder input gleaned from the HSC’s 2008 Ideas into Action Consultation process that focused on new ways to Ontario’s social housing sector.

-Nicholas Gazzard, Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada Today co-op housing is home to some 250,000 people in Canada and plays a key role in providing affordable housing solutions for Canadians. Challenges and emerging priorities for co-op housing include the aging housing stock; governance and management; demographic shifts; energy conservation and a secure place for co-op development in the current policy environment due to a lack of dedication of co-op housing from the federal government.

- Steven Lewis, Access Consulting Ltd. This paper reviews the theory and practice of accreditation, and outlines its potential benefits and unintended consequences. Accreditation can be helpful and if the social housing sector decides to pursue this path, it may be worth thinking about a number of issues that will arise in the course of determining the core purposes, the nature and breadth of the services to be accredited, and the indicators to be measured.

-Sharad Kerur, Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association   With the devolution of housing to the municipal level, and no significant housing interest or investment in the past 12 years from either the provincial or federal governments, the human capital supply of housing providers is again and diminishing with no signs of improvement unless some sort of renewal strategy is developed and implemented. Another dynamic at play is that as the provincial housing administration continues to devolve to 47 service managers, the ration of administrative expertise to front-line housing management expertise is also shifting. This means that the sector is more top-heavy and the pool of human capital with front-line housing development and management skills is shrinking, relative to the pool of trained administrators.

-Colin Gage, Victoria Park Community Homes   A recent study of Non-profit Voluntary Organizations conducted by Statistics Canada identified that the majority of participants are having problems fulfilling their missions and achieving their organization’s objectives due, in part, to problems recruiting volunteers. The issue is one of demographics but it appears that Canadians are connecting less with others, reaching out less often to help others. We as a sector have to develop a strategy to advertise the need for volunteers.

This report, prepared as part of the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review process, speaks to 3 key areas related to income-redistribution and social housing which harm both tenants and municipalities: the $175 million municipal subsidy paid to subsidize the rents of OW/ODSP clients living in social housing, the program disincentives which dissuade tenants from full-time employment, and the need for better service integration between and within levels of government. The resourcefulness of our social housing residents should not be underestimated. Ontario can lead the way in transforming social housing to communities of hope and livelihood.

- Sally Turner, York University This research project analyzes the contribution of private non-profit (PNP) organizations to Toronto’s subsidized housing system, and identifies some of the most significant barriers they face. It is found that PNP organizations make a large contribution to Toronto’s subsidized housing system, particularly through their dedication to holistic care. As primarily small-scale organizations however, they face significant barriers which could potentially be reduced through increased, more flexible funding at all levels of government, and greater communication to ensure that programs adequately and appropriately address the needs of PNP housing providers.

- Joël Thibert, McGill University This research project describes and analyzes the policy, planning and design processes that led to the creation of three recent socially-mixed projects in the regions of Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. There is general agreement that social inclusion is an important goal for social housing sustainability. It is also well-established that the realization of socially-mixed projects is generally more complex. It is recommended, among other things that local governments take an active role in ensuring a “proper mix” at the project level without using coercive measures and that the experience of providers and consultants be considered in project selection and transmitted more effectively.

- Nick Falvo The emergent Housing First model, which focused on new means of rapid rehousing of the homeless, is popular in North America among policy-makers and the mass media. This report begins by discussing the Housing First model as it has evolved in the United States context. Turning to the main focus of this research, the paper then documents, analyzes and interprets Canada’s version of Housing First, Toronto’s Streets to Homes (S2H) program. The report concludes with recommendations about how to both improve S2H and ensure that Housing First programs in other Canadian cities are effective in housing homeless persons.

- Carla Schuk In the early 1990’s decentralization of social housing programs from federal to provincial governments was implemented in an effort to reduce federal budget costs. These services were further decentralized down to municipalities in Ontario in 2001, but remained centralized in other provinces such as British Columbia. Decentralization was promoted as a way to streamline housing programs and increase the efficiency of implementation through local governments addressing local housing issues. This report explores both centralized and decentralized housing models in British Columbia and Ontario and examines how theoretical models have been adapted to overcome the trade-offs associated with them.

- Helen Looker In April 2005, the federal and Ontario governments jointly invested $734 million in the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program (COAHP) with more than $28 million dedicated to the COAHP Homeownership Component. The COAHP was implemented to help 20,000 low to moderate income households make the transition from renting, to home ownership through assisted down payments. This paper assesses the variable uptake of the COAHP Homeownership Component and critically analyzes the presumption that home ownership represents a necessarily positive trajectory for low and middle income Canadian households.

- Arif Jinha   In January 2009 the federal government had allocated about $2 billion toward social housing. This level of spending was a reversal of the platforms of all parties running and part of a global response of economic stimulus spending to pump prime economies. This paper provides an early look at the significance of the recession and stimulus spending to affordable housing in Ontario.

In anticipation of the Minister’s 2009 affordable housing consultations HSC commissioned this paper. It emphasizes sustainability in the housing sector, regulatory requirements, and housing programs which shape the production of new affordable housing.

Unlike many other social services, social housing is a sector that must battle with the perception that its value must be substantiated. This paper outlines data and research strategies to cast new light on the wider social and economic value of social housing.

This discussion paper, prepared as part of the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review process, asserts that healthy and safe communities are sustainable only when local energies and entrepreneurship are released, when the bricks and mortar are in good repair, and when the cost of physical and social well-being is affordable to all. These three elements form a pyramid of interconnected strategic objectives - ensuring the livelihoods of our communities by developing a sustainable financial framework and creating a basis for social businesses to deliver housing.

- David Wachsmuth As Ontario comes to rely increasingly on immigration to fuel economic and demographic growth, the question of how to effectively house newcomers is gaining importance. Most academic and policy research in Canada has focused on Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, but so-called “second-tier” cities such as Ottawa, Hamilton and Windsor now accept almost one in five new Ontarians and the proportion is growing each year. This report examines the challenges medium-sized cities face in housing immigrants and the current and potential policy responses.

- Abigail Friendly Despite high levels of economic prosperity in Canada, food insecurity is increasingly being recognized as an issue that lacks a coherent policy response at both federal and local levels. The concentration of low-income populations in social housing makes the problem especially acute for social housing residents and providers. The purpose of this report is to help develop food security policy, with a specific focus on social housing providers in Canadian cities. The report concludes with community food security (CFS) policy recommendations aimed at social housing providers in Canadian cities.

- Alex Moskalyk The goals of this research are, first, to review and conduct original research on the role currently played by public-private partnerships (PPPs) in sustainable social housing development in Canada and, second, to explore policy options and assess their potential for funding social housing. This paper explains the function that governments and the private sector can play in enhancing and optimizing the role of PPP development. This report ends with policy recommendations that may support future program initiatives that encourage PPP-based social housing in Canada.

This report, prepared as part of the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review process, speaks to 3 key areas related to income-redistribution and social housing which harm both tenants and municipalities: the $175 million municipal subsidy paid to subsidize the rents of OW/ODSP clients living in social housing, the program disincentives which dissuade tenants from full-time employment, and the need for better service integration between and within levels of government. The resourcefulness of our social housing residents should not be underestimated. Ontario can lead the way in transforming social housing to communities of hope and livelihood.

- Sally Turner, York University This research project analyzes the contribution of private non-profit (PNP) organizations to Toronto’s subsidized housing system, and identifies some of the most significant barriers they face. It is found that PNP organizations make a large contribution to Toronto’s subsidized housing system, particularly through their dedication to holistic care. As primarily small-scale organizations however, they face significant barriers which could potentially be reduced through increased, more flexible funding at all levels of government, and greater communication to ensure that programs adequately and appropriately address the needs of PNP housing providers.

- Jeff May, York University This paper analyzes the theoretical and practical implications of whether living in social housing has positive or negative effects on the ability of residents to gain access to other essential social services (education, health care, immigration services, childcare, and other). The concepts of social inclusion, integration of services, and connectivity of people to services in Toronto are analyzed. The primary findings of this research indicate that people do achieve connectivity but get it through less formal channels such as neighbourhood social networks. This paper concludes with some implications of this research for policy, which include suggestions that still more practical integration of services is needed and that more could be made of pre-existing social networks that allow for connectivity to services.

- Michel Molgat Sereacki, Université de Montréal This research paper analyzes potential avenues for strengthening housing governance through the collaboration between levels of government. The paper constructs an analytical framework for examining cases from Manitoba, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The lessons from the three cases echo important elements from the literature highlighting considerations for future endeavours; most notable is the importance of good design, an adequate political, material and financial support to the success of a project or initiative. Among the recommendations made, it is important that the federal and provincial governments take a more proactive role in strengthening the link between housing and their respective policy directions.

- Joël Thibert, McGill University This research project describes and analyzes the policy, planning and design processes that led to the creation of three recent socially-mixed projects in the regions of Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. There is general agreement that social inclusion is an important goal for social housing sustainability. It is also well-established that the realization of socially-mixed projects is generally more complex. It is recommended, among other things that local governments take an active role in ensuring a “proper mix” at the project level without using coercive measures and that the experience of providers and consultants be considered in project selection and transmitted more effectively.

- Mary Pitt, McGill University   This research explores the link between the theory, policy and practice of energy-efficient social housing. The theory addresses the general question of “What is energy-efficient housing?”, and “Why is it that not all social housing is energy efficient?” Current policy and programs in Ontario are reviewed to discover what current incentives and opportunities there are for enhancing the energy efficiency of affordable housing. The practice in Ottawa is examined and used to inform policy recommendations for Ontario. The report finishes with general conclusions of how theory, policy and practice overlap, and suggest further avenues for research.

- Allison Jones, University of British Columbia Low-income seniors’ ability to age at home, with supports available to accommodate their changing needs, is an issue of critical importance to all Canadians. This research investigates housing and care options for low-income seniors in Ontario. The report focuses on supportive housing for low-income seniors who can no longer function entirely independently due to declining health. Seniors’ supportive housing programs in British Columbia provide a provincial example of seniors’ support services and social housing integration. Policy recommendations are offered.