Parliament Hill
November 26th, 2009
cross-posted from Spacing Atlantic
HALIFAX — National Housing Day was first marked on the calendar by a team of Toronto housing advocates on Nov 22, 1998. But this year, more than a decade later, it was infused with new meaning.
Housing is back on the national agenda, with proposed Bill C-304 calling for the development of a national housing strategy designed to ensure safe, adequate, accessible, affordable housing to all Canadians. The Bill, seconded by Halifax MP Megan Leslie, has deep implications for Canadian cities, and the diversity of housing challenges they face. “Housing impacts the health of communities,” says Leslie, who is the NDP critic for housing and homelessness. ”It’s not just about putting a roof over someone’s head, it is about the health of a community general — the physical health, the mental health, the economic health of a community.â€
The need for a national strategy was made amply clear at yesterday’s National Housing Day events in Halifax. Gathered at St. Matthew’s United Church, a crowd of over 100 marked the opening of the Out of the Cold emergency shelter for a second winter. A collaborative community initiative by the Metro Non-Profit Housing Association, Community Action on Homelessness (CAH), St. Matthew’s, and a dedicated team of volunteers, the shelter provides 15 beds for men and women.
A panel consisting of members of the organizing committee, housing advocates, and community members shared stories on why initiatives such as this one are so important in a city like Halifax, wrought with its own unique set of housing challenges. However, the grassroots, community-based strategy provokes conflicted feelings for many of those involved.
The fact that the shelter receives no support from the government is “the elephant in the room that we have to recognize,” said Fiona Traynor of Dalhousie Legal Aid. “It’s all being done by volunteers, and as great as that is, it’s still, in my opinion, a black mark on the federal and provincial governments.” This black mark is indicative of the need for a national strategy.
June 29th, 2009
Well, so much for the National Transit Strategy.
When city council approved the additional $417 million for the streetcar purchase on …
June 22nd, 2009
For all the spin and counter-spin hovering around the David Miller-John Baird feud over the streetcar “ask,†most observers have neglected to …
June 19th, 2009
According to the Globe and Mail, another twist has developed in the political soap opera centred around federal funding of Toronto’s streetcars.
Ottawa is standing firm in its refusal to give
…
January 28th, 2009
When word started leaking out last night through Mayor David Miller via Twitter that Transit City wasn’t funded in the budget brought down by the federal government, I was disappointed. …
October 30th, 2008
At a noon hour budget committee meeting, the City of Toronto publicly launched its capital budget approval process. While the biggest dollar figures were reserved for TTC and roads, bike lanes play a prominent role in the $1.6 billion spending plan.
Mayor David Miller, budget chief Shelley Carroll and city manager Joe Pennachetti all highlighted the investment of $70.3 million to be spent installing bike lanes between 2009 and 2012. Starting with $8 million in 2009, Miller said that with those funds and the streamlined approvals process, the bike plan will be completed by 2012. The outcome of the Annette bike lane debate at today’s meeting of City Council should be an indicator of whether the City will be able to spend the entire cycling budget.
The budget, for a change, comes in $99 million below the City’s overall debt target (the maximum amount it can borrow) and the City will continue to pay down its existing debt by $225 million per year. Only 40% of the capital budget will be funded out of debt, with the rest coming mostly from federal and provincial governments.
The budget goes to City Council for approval on December 10. The budget committee will be receiving councillor and public comment at meetings in November.
October 7th, 2008
I find the idea of that it’s possible to be allergic to a piece of art inherently funny, but it seems particularly apt at a time when the Prime Minister, …
October 1st, 2008
In spite of his government’s outright contempt for Canada’s cities, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives are, brace yourself, ranked the best party to deal with the “city portfolio†by Canadians, according to a poll released this morning …
September 23rd, 2008
Cross-posted from Spacing Montreal
MONTREAL – Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay and Toronto mayor David Miller held a press conference at Montreal City Hall this morning to repeat their demands for greater federal support in the managing of Montreal, Toronto, and cities across Canada. In a federal election campaign with no dominant issue, the mayors hope to draw attention to the national parties’ lack of engagement with issues facing Canadian cities. Unlike past demands from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) that have focused on specific proposals, such as devoting a portion of GST revenues to cities, Tremblay and Miller stressed that what is needed now is a willingness to engage in a real partnership rather than just more piecemeal action. In fact, the rhetoric of both mayors painted the lack of funding for cities as an urgent, non-partisan issue of national importance. The municipal model, they say, is broken.
September 8th, 2008
I got this quote from Councillor Howard Moscoe in June while tracking down the story about the Conservative attack ads on gas pumps. The quote just didn’t quite fit in the post I was writing but …
