Taking stock of the past year: Coming together through a whirlwind of change
With all that’s happened in the affordable housing sector over the past year, it seems like community housing providers have barely had a chance to catch their breath.
First, we saw something that the sector hadn’t seen in more than 20 years. Last fall, the federal government announced that they were back in the housing game with the release of their National Housing Strategy. That strategy included a historic planned investment of $40 billion in housing across the country – but we still have questions about what those investments will look like and mean for our sector.
More recently, we’ve seen the Province take its first concrete steps towards sector modernization – meaning new, flexible ways to deliver social housing and big potential changes for our sector. The Province is in the midst of consulting with non-profit and community housing providers across Ontario on their initial vision for a modernized framework. As we all continue to learn more, ONPHA is listening to our members and gathering their input, which we’ll use to develop our shared priorities and collective response to the Province.
With all that’s already in play, we’re also just months away from the provincial election. ONPHA is currently working towards the release of an elections toolkit and an affordable housing plan that will help bring our priorities and policy recommendations to all parties with a strong, united voice.
Through all of this, a new ecosystem for housing is emerging, and we can potentially have an important role to play in its design and implementation. It’s an exciting time, with plenty of opportunity on the horizon. It’s also a time of rapid change, which means it’s more crucial than ever to come together, take stock, set priorities and stay connected as a sector.
ONPHA is gearing up to hit the road and connect with our members right in their own backyards through Regional Meetings. We’ll be hosting meetings between April 11 and May 23 in 14 Ontario communities, and the timing couldn’t be better.
This will be a key chance to come together as a sector, and take stock of what we’ve learned so far, what it means for us as a sector, what our shared priorities are, and how to bring these to the forefront. We’re looking forward to touching base with more of our members than ever at this crucial moment.
The meetings are complimentary to attend for all ONPHA Housing Members, and you can find full details on the agenda, dates, locations and registration here on our website.
