People expect that Richmond Hill with its thriving housing market and an average house price of almost half a million dollars is without social or economic concerns. I can tell you that they are wrong. We have Seniors on 5 – 7 year waiting lists for subsidized housing in Richmond Hill, young people that cannot afford to leave their parents homes or leave but only to ‘couch surf’ at the homes of friends and relatives. Some young families have straddled themselves with tremendous mortgage debts and are only a few missed pay cheques away from default. My office is receiving more correspondence and phone calls from people looking for affordable housing or temporary shelter. As Chair of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Social Economic Development Committee, I will be releasing a National Strategy for Housing and Homelessness. But are the other levels of government prepared to act? The Big City Mayor’s Caucus has encouraged this investigation of housing issues and we want our Federal government to recognize the severity of homelessness in virtually every municipality across Canada. What is “affordable”? The accepted definition across Canada is: housing that costs less than 30 percent of your gross income. What does that mean? If you earn minimum wage $2,000. per month then your rental or mortgage payment including property taxes must be $ 600. per month or less to be considered ‘affordable’. Have you read the classifieds lately? A one bedroom basement apartment in Richmond Hill is closer to $800. per month or higher and most of these apartments are not legal. Basement apartments are a necessary part of our housing mix. In order for some older residents to remain in their homes, they need to rent out the basement. Young and low income residents need basement apartments. The statistics are dismal: more than 5,500 people are on the waiting list for social housing in the region, many are seniors or families with children. Brenda Hogg, Deputy Mayor |