Freedom Flyer October 1990 Cover

Freedom Flyer 17

the official newsletter of the
Freedom Party of Ontario

October 1990




Article electronically reproduced from:

The St. Thomas Times-Journal

September 4, 1990


The Elgin County Access to Permanent Housing Committee is made up of social service agencies, community officials. and concerned citizens of the community. The present focus of the committee is to provide community awareness of the housing issue in Elgin County. The commitee posted questions to the four candidates in the upcoming election to get their opinion on the issue. Elgin '90 candidates

Candidates are Ray Monteith (Freedom Party), Peter North (New Democratic Party), Marietta Roberts (Liberal Party) and Jim Williams (Progressive Conservative Party).

1. Does your Party support programs to provide funding for more non-profit housing allocations in Elgin County? If so, how?

FREEDOM - We do not support government funding for housing. This increases the cost for others who wish to build homes. Lower taxes, so all can afford to build new homes

NDP - Yes. An NDP government would make a commitment to non- profit housing:

1) By making available excess government lands to churches or social groups

2) End the chronic underfunding of the non-profit sector by providing for an increased supply of new cooperative and non-profit housing units.

3) We would develop new forms of assisted home ownership for young families.

LIBERAL - The pressures which bear on the current housing market are severe, and in particular, magnify the concerns regarding the availability of homes and apartments for those of low and moderate income. The cost and availability of properly zoned lands; the planning process with its susceptibility to opposition and delay; and the approvals process at the local and provincial levels are but some of the factors which act as impediments to the provision of affordable housing.

Since 1987, a number of non profit and geared-to-income proposals have been submitted to the provincial government by many different groups in the riding of Elgin. Allocations have been made in Port Stanley, St. Thomas and East Elgin. My support has been very strong for further allocations, still under consideration, from groups in Rodney, Dutton and St. Thomas.

These allocations and proposals were made under the recently announced HOMES NOW program, the largest non-profit housing program in Ontario's history. The program will create 30,000 units, providing housing for approximately 90,000 people over the next three to five years.

PC - Response not available.

2. Does your Party commit itself to ensuring that low income households will be able to afford adequate housing in Elgin County? If so, how?

FREEDOM - We do not take from one to give to another, but to create opportunities for everyone -lower taxes and red tape.

NDP - Our Party is committed to ensuring that low income households will be able to afford adequate housing through rent control rather than the present system of rent review.

LIBERAL - The Liberal Government has recognized the need for low-income housing and has utilized a number of different programs to provide methods of increasing the housing supply in Ontario.

A number of different individuals and groups have made access to the convert-to-rent program that enables investors to convert unused buildings and homes to apartments and townhouses.

Availability of housing supply, however, is not where the assistance stops. Through tax reforms like increasing the income payable level for Ontario personal income tax, and reforms to the social assistance programs in the province also provide low-income earners more flexibility to assist them in finding affordable housing.

I am committed to further tax reform and more importantly, social assistance reform which would give low-income earners stronger buying power. These initiatives coupled with more geared-to-income and non-profit housing units in Elgin will go a long way to meeting the need.

PC- Response not available.

3. Is your Party committed to ensuring that 25% of new residential developments in Elgin County will include land reserved for non-profit housing? If so, how?

FREEDOM - No.

NDP - Yes. The general principle guiding 0NDP housing programs will be to provide greater subsidies to cooperative and non-profit housing than to those which allow for the retention of equity or the realization of capital gains. The ultimate goal of such programs will be to take the profit out of housing so that housing can properly fulfill its primary funcion as accommodation - not a commodity.

LIBERAL - I am very supportive of the Liberal Government's statement on housing and land use released bv the Minister of Housing and the Minister of Municipal Affairs on August 23, 1988, which indicates the commitment to develop a 25 per cent affordable guideline and an intensification guideline.

Part of that initiative indicates that municipalities are required to revise official plans and zoning to provide for a wide range of housing forms and types, integrated throughout the community. Of the new housing that is created, an overall component of 25 per cent is to be geared to moderate and low-income families and individuals, at appropriate densities and sizes.

PC - Response not available.

4. Is your Party committed to ensure that the need for affordable, permanent housing is brought to the municipalities in Elgin County? If so, how?

FREED0M - No, taxes are high enough already. Free enterprise - not state control. Development fees, etc. help to make housing unaffordable.

NDP - Yes. Our Party has stated verv clearly that we support programs for non-profit housing through demanding allocations of provincially owned lands to non profit or affordable housing builders rather than high end or unaffordable developers.

LIBERAL - The greatest impression that could be made on municipalities is for the need for housing to be demonstrated from within their own communities. In Elgin the work of Kiwanians, Lions Clubs, churches and non-profit groups has been very successful in encouraging local municipal support for affordable housing projects. As the provincial government has already indicated, there is a great interest in working in partnership with local municipal councils, community groups and churches. It is very important that a proposed project fit in with the official plan and vision of each community, determined by each community, and I would continue to work as closely as possible with interested groups to try to see their projects proceed, as I have done in the past.

PC - Response not available




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