April 4, 2024
The Honourable Sean Fraser
Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Via email: [email protected]
Open Letter re: Loss of Thousands Rent Geared to Income Subsided Units
Dear Minister Fraser,
It has come to my attention that Canada will lose thousands of Rent-Geared-to Income (RGI) units, with significant impact for urban Indigenous peoples who are already overrepresented in the unhoused population. Non-profits with housing projects under the Urban Native Housing Additional Assistance Program are part of the CMHC Bilateral Agreements under the National Housing Strategy.
Recently non-profits have been advised an Amending Agreement for some of those projects would come into effect on June 29, 2024, whereby Rent-Geared-Income (RGI) units will need to revert to market rent as soon as turnover of the existing tenant occurs as the subsidies for those units will not be renewed beyond 2028. It further stipulates that this conversion will be permanent. What this means is that Canada will permanently lose thousands of RGI units for low-income residents. This is in addition to the loss of 370,000 affordable units under the Liberal government’s watch and another 800,000 units under the Conservative’s watch.
This poses a significant risk to thousands of Canadians, especially Indigenous communities which are already overrepresented in homelessness and housing need. The non-market housing sector plays a crucial role in communities across Canada, offering not just shelter but stability, security, and a sense of community for its residents. Canada is already faced with a housing crisis. It is widely recognized that for every affordable housing unit built, 11 will be lost. Without the continuation of these subsidies, homelessness will be further exacerbated.
This policy decision directly contradicts and undermines your claim that you want to add affordable housing stock in Canada. Your recent announcements of ‘new’ funding to increase the supply of affordable housing across Canada ahead of Budget 2024 will be negated by the loss of thousands of existing affordable housing and have devastating impacts for the most vulnerable members of our communities by 2028. If this is not rectified, efforts made to increase affordable housing supply will amount to little more than rhetoric as the government embark on an exercise of giving with the right hand and taking with the left.
In effect, your government will be directly responsible for the erosions of existing affordable units and contribute to increasing homelessness in Canada.
Urgent action is needed to reverse this detrimental outcome. This Amending Agreement must be withdrawn and RGI subsidies for these units must continue.
Thank you for your urgent attention to this critical issue.
Sincerely,
Jenny Kwan
Member of Parliament for Vancouver East
NDP Housing Critic
