A New Housing Strategy for Ontario: Academic Roundtable and Public Forum

Abstract

For the first time in Ontario's history, the Government of Ontario is in the process of developing a comprehensive housing strategy for the province. Pursuant to this goal the Ministry of Housing has recently released two discussion papers. The first paper, A Housing Framework for Ontario, deals with issues of affordable housing supply, preservation of existing housing stock and government program responses to housing needs. The second paper deals with the use of government land for affordable housing. The academic roundtable provides both a public forum out of which a report will be produced containing the academic participants' papers, and a summary of the roundtable discussions. Four professors, one from· each of the faculties of planning, social work, economics and public policy, have been invited to participate in the roundtable and submit papers. The work of the academic roundtable participants is to be in two parts: Oral presentation and discussion at the academic roundtable public forum, and submission of a paper providing their contribution to the development of the housing strategy for the Government of Ontario. Issues that are addressed: (1) Methods to obtain consistency with other Ministries' policies. (2) Dealing with "Not In My Backyard". (3) Sectoral roles including the appropriate interrelationship between private enterprise and the government in the provision of housing. (4) Priorities, what should be the short-term priorities for the government and how do they fit into a long-term strategy? (5) General land-use planning and where housing policies should fit in. (6) Home ownership. (7) Creative financing mechanisms for any type of housing and related infrastructure. (8) Rent control.