Government, Provinces Agree On New Short-Term Framework On Housing

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Three years after the federal government promised a five-year extension of key national housing investments, a new short-term housing framework agreement was announced on July 4, 2011 with the provinces and territories.

While the agreement provides no new money and has the same flaws in the 2001 housing framework agreement, the federal government will honour its 2008 housing promise when it announced a five-year extension of several housing and homelessness investments.

The July 4th announcement commits to $1.4 billion -- it is some $470 million annually -- from combined federal, provincial, territorial, municipal and third party housing investments over a three-year period.

There had been real concern that government cost-cutting measures might claim some of the previously announced spending, according to the Wellesley Institute's Michael Shapcott. He noted that federal housing and homelessness investments has been shrinking since 1989 (cf., Precarious Housing 2010).

The latest corporate plan from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) indicates that overall federal housing expenses will drop sharply from $3 billion in 2010 to $1.75 billion in 2014 – a cut of $1.25 billion.

The funds cited in the agreement are already included in the CMHC corporate plan. The drop in federal housing spending is related to the expiry of short-term funding commitments, including the 2009 federal stimulus dollars, and federal housing commitments.

For more information, go to www.wellesleyinstitute.com or http://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/blog/affordable-housing-blog/finally-feds-provinces-territories-announce-new-housing-framework-facts-and-figures/

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