Action Required: At last, province getting message on housing

[Guest guest]

I think it is extremely important to make submissions to this committee re

MCS/ES housing

_http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page6395.aspx_

(http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page6395.aspx)

 

 

 

At last, province getting message on housing

 

TheStar.com - Opinion - At last, province getting message on housing

July 03, 2009

_http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/660091_

(http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/660091)

Carol Goar

 

The consultations began without fanfare. That is a good sign.

 

For the past six years, Premier Dalton McGuinty has set ambitious housing

targets and missed them; announced promising programs and underfunded them;

talked big and delivered little.

 

This time, the government is building the housing plank of its poverty

reduction strategy quietly and co-operatively.

 

On June 16, Housing Minister Jim Watson kicked off a 12-city set of public

hearings in Sault Ste. Marie. He did not bring cash or guarantees, but he

left activists in the community convinced he understands the severity of

Ontario's affordable housing shortage and is serious about fixing it.

 

**We have plenty of local housing solutions, including repairing and

rehabilitating rundown buildings,** said Paul Frolich, a volunteer at the

Calvary Christian Centre.

 

**But we need the province to become a full partner.**

 

This doesn*t mean housing activists are credulous about the government's

motives or tactics. They know Watson is trying to dampen expectations of

immediate reform. They know politicians would rather hatch plans than spend

money. They know long-term strategies get shelved when governments lose power.

 

Nevertheless, they believe the government has given them an opportunity to

move from isolated local battles to a collective approach.

 

**We*re organized, we know what low-income communities want and we're

working to ensure the government delivers,** said Yutaka Dirks, co-chair of a

newly founded provincial network of housing organizations.

 

He and fellow-activists are taking their cue from the anti-poverty

movement. Organizations across the province linked up, two years ago, to form

the

25 in 5 Coalition.

 

They got results. Last December, the government unveiled a poverty

reduction plan with clear targets and timelines. This spring, it made a

substantial down payment.

 

Michael Shapcott of the Wellesley Institute, who co-chairs the Housing

Network of Ontario, senses the same resolve within his sector. **Communities

are mobilizing. The movement is more vibrant than it has been in years.**

 

In anticipation of Watson's hearings, more than 100 housing activists from

Ottawa, Kitchener-Waterloo, Sarnia, Hamilton, Bracebridge, Sault Ste.

Marie, Peterborough, the Niagara region and Toronto met at College Street

United Church on May 11 to draft a declaration of principles and block out a

plan.

 

 

They set four overarching priorities. Ontario's long-term housing strategy

must:

 

Include firm targets and a timeline to reduce and eventually eliminate the

number of Ontarians who spend more than 50 per cent of their income on

shelter.

 

Provide a reliable way to measure progress.

 

Ensure that Ontarians with mental illness have the support services they

need to live safely in the community.

 

Guarantee equitable access to housing to aboriginal people, members of

racialized communities, individuals with HIV/AIDS, former inmates, people with

addictions and those living on the street.

 

 

The specifics will come later, Dirks said. First, the network wants to

reinforce the voices of its members. As the consultations unfold, it will

provide local activists with the support they need to deliver a strong,

well-researched message to Watson. Following each hearing, it will update all

members.

 

After the last meeting in Thunder Bay on Sept. 30, it will release a

public summary highlighting opportunities to get moving in each community and

policy changes that are needed to revive Ontario's battered non-profit

housing sector.

 

No one has forgotten the McGuinty government's disappointing housing

record. No is buying its inflated claims about how much it has already done.

But

housing activists are willing to overlook the past. " We feel confident we

have the ear of the minister and his staff, " Shapcott said.

 

Summer is normally the season of ribbon-cuttings and funding

announcements. It is refreshing to see Watson, an inveterate glad-hander, out

listening

this year.

 

Carol Goar`s column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

 

 

 

Amputated Lives: Coping with Chemical Sensitivity

 

The condition of multiple chemical sensitivity has been rapidly growing

with the proliferation of new, untested chemicals in our environment. In

recent decades, people from many walks of life have developed a new intolerance

for the chemicals found in perfume, air fresheners, cleaning products,

fabric softeners, diesel and auto exhaust, new carpet, paint, and other

products. Their ranks include large numbers of Exxon Valdez cleanup workers,

Gulf

War veterans, 9/11 First Responders, and FEMA trailer residents.

 

_http://www.alisonjohnsonmcs.com/amputated-lives-coping-with-chemical-sensit

ivity.htm_

(http://www.alisonjohnsonmcs.com/amputated-lives-coping-with-chemical-sensitivit\

y.htm)