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Affordable Housing Spotlight #6 – Advocacy
This is the final installment of the Affordable Housing Spotlight series, which has focused on what all levels of government are doing to address Canada’s housing crisis.
This week, we look at the advocacy role organizations such as the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) play in the housing crisis. AMO is a non-profit organization representing almost all of Ontario’s 444 municipal governments, and ROMA is the rural arm of AMO.
Both AMO and ROMA are advocating for more support from the Province for housing, and for changes to provincial legislation and regulations to make homes available for everyone. This spotlight shares information about the advocacy role and includes information about AMO’s Housing Taskforce and the launch of a new Affordable Housing Taskforce at ROMA. Mayor Lowry plays an active role on both the AMO and ROMA Boards as an elected Director to the Rural Caucus, and she also sits on both Housing Taskforces representing rural Eastern Ontario.
1. AMO’s Housing Taskforce
AMO’s 2022 report, Blueprint for Action: A Coordinated Approach to Address the Ontario Housing Crisis, outlines nearly 90 recommendations on how to guide further action to build a strong housing sector. The recommendations, separated into levels of government, are grouped into one of six categories: Collaboration & Coordination, Funding & Incentives, Improving Outcomes for People, Innovation, Streamlining Processes, and Workforce Development & Supply Chain.
The purpose of the Blueprint is to provide a starting point for ongoing collaboration and collective work to improve housing in Ontario. AMO stands ready to work with all levels of government and the development sector to ensure that Ontarians have access to affordable, inclusive, safe, and suitable housing across a number of housing options.
The Blueprint also addresses social determinants such as health, poverty reduction, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. It acknowledges that every municipality faces its own unique challenges and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. What is common between all municipal governments, however, is the pressure they face to build and sustain complete communities so their residents can enjoy a quality of life wherever they choose to live. Flexibility, updated zoning bylaws and efficient approval processes are some of the municipal actions identified to facilitate more housing affordability options.
2. ROMA’s Affordable Housing Taskforce
Earlier this year, ROMA struck an Affordable Housing Taskforce to help address barriers to affordable housing in rural Ontario. This stems from a plan (Opportunities for Rural Ontario in a Post-Covid World) launched in January that identifies five key themes to shape rural Ontario and recommends approaches and strategies for immediate and longer-term actions. In addition to affordable and attainable housing, other themes include digital connectivity, access to services, workforce development, and growth and development planning. The goal is to position rural Ontario as a vibrant network of communities essential to the social and economic fabric
of the Province.
To implement the plan, ROMA will engage with municipalities, the Province, and key stakeholders, and present its findings at AMO’s Annual General Meeting in Ottawa in August.
For other spotlight pieces and community engagement opportunities, visit: https://www.mississippimills.ca/en/municipal-hall/public-engagement.aspx
