Provincial Funds for Social Housing (B. Anderson)

Recommendation:
That the following report be received for information.

Report Summary

  • This report responds to an Administrative inquiry regarding the use of the savings resulting from the Provincial Government’s decision to cancel the subsidy obligations for provincially-owned community housing. It outlines how the City of Calgary has utilized its savings for low cost housing.

Previous Council/Committee Action

  • At the regular meeting of City Council on April 6, 1999, Councillor
    B. Anderson made the following inquiry:

“This inquiry is directed to the Community Services Department.

A recent editorial in the Edmonton Journal (March 28, 1999) raised some interesting questions and listed some concerning facts:

October 1995 - rental vacancy rate 10.2%

October 1998 - rental vacancy rate 1.8%

December 1999 - projected rental vacancy rate 1.0%

October 1997 - no waiting list for 5,300 assisted housing units

March 1999 - waiting list has grown to 700 families, all pre-approved as qualified.

Regarding the $1.3 million in provincial funds earmarked for social housing:

"…..the province urged the City to put the money into low-cost housing and hinted there would be more funds in future years if Council played along."

"….Calgary took its $2 million allotment and working with the private sector and foundations, was able to jump start $6 million in low cost housing. Since this pleased the province, Calgary may well be rewarded with more money in the future."

“My questions are as follows:

  1. What has Calgary specifically done to turn their $2 million into $6 million in available low cost housing?
  2. Does Calgary have any ownership of this created housing or does the administration and ownership reside with the private sector?
  3. Is there any validity to the suggestion that making our $1.3 million work in the area of social housing will result in future provincial money being made available to Edmonton?
  4. If council was able to “resurrect” the $1.3 million (put into general revenue) in the 2000 budget process and put it to work in the area of social housing, would this action positively affect provincial decisions about additional social housing allocations to Edmonton?

I would like this inquiry to come back to the May 10, 1999 Community Services Committee (at the same time as the response to Councillor Taylor’s motion from the March8, 1999 Community Services Committee meeting).”

Report

  1. The City of Calgary’s “allotment” is being applied to housing issues through the Calgary Homeless Foundation, an organization separate from the City. To date, the Calgary Homeless Foundation has raised approximately $4.4 million of an intended $6 million, as follows:
  • the City of Calgary pledged $2 million, in cash and kind, made possible in part from the savings resulting from the Province’s cancellation of subsidy obligations for Provincially-owned community housing ($975,000);
  • an additional $2 million was received from Provincial lottery funding revenues; and
  • approximately $400,000 raised through private donations.
  1. The Calgary Homeless Foundation does not intend to own or operate any housing, including any resulting from this funding. It pursues partnership projects with the not-for-profit sector and private sector. For example, it has committed $500,000 to add 70 units to a project planned by the Salvation Army to address the need for emergency housing. The City of Calgary has also committed funding to this project (separate from its above-noted pledge to the Foundation). As another example, the Foundation is purchasing a 43-unit apartment building at the edge of downtown Calgary, for transitional housing, which will be turned over to Calhome Properties, the City of Calgary’s non-profit housing corporation.
  2. The Province indicated at the time that there were no “strings attached” to the $1.3 million in subsidy forgiveness. Whether or not Council’s reallocation of this saving to general revenue was interpreted by the Province to mean low income housing is not a priority for the City of Edmonton, cannot be answered by the Administration. It is also speculative to say whether or not putting $1.3 million to the area of social housing would result in Provincial funding as happened in Calgary.
  3. As noted above, how the Province would respond to the City allocating $1.3 million to social housing is speculative. The Province has been supportive of partnerships and community initiatives to address the housing needs of low income households:
  • An Edmonton example is the refurbishment of the McCauley Lodge for hard-to-house seniors. This was a partnership between the Province, the Greater Edmonton Foundation, Operation Friendship, and the City of Edmonton.
  • The funding provided to the Calgary Homeless Foundation, and the $50,000 grant to help establish the Edmonton Housing Trust Fund, are further examples of the Province’s willingness to contribute when other partners are at the table.

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