Schreiner challenges Doug Ford to get serious on housing

January 19, 2022

TORONTO — This morning, Ontario Greens leader Mike Schreiner held a virtual news conference to call for all-party collaboration on housing and to call on Doug Ford to “get serious” about addressing the housing affordability crisis.

TORONTO — This morning, Ontario Greens leader Mike Schreiner held a virtual news conference to call for all-party collaboration on housing and to call on Doug Ford to “get serious” about addressing the housing affordability crisis.

Notably, no opposition parties were invited to the Ford government’s housing summit today.

“This is a pattern,” Schreiner said. “Doug Ford refuses to listen to good ideas.

“People facing a crisis don’t care about political stripes. They need solutions. They need all of us to collaborate and work together. I challenge the Premier to take the housing crisis seriously and listen to our ideas.”

Last June, Ontario Greens released what was deemed a ‘masterclass’ housing plan. And Schreiner has introduced multiple solutions from the plan at Queen’s Park.

“But instead of collaborating on good ideas, Doug Ford chooses to plow ahead with urban sprawl that destroys the farmland that feeds us and the wetlands that clean our drinking and protect us from flooding. Sprawl makes Ontarians’ lives even less affordable.”

Ontario Greens will increase housing supply and make housing more affordable, while at the same time protecting nature by:

• Building 100,000 new permanently affordable rental units and renewing 260,000 affordable community housing units
• Ending chronic homelessness by building 60,000 permanent supportive housing spaces, including with wrap-around mental health services
• Significantly increasing housing supply through infill development by expanding zoning options to allow for duplexes and triplexes as-of-right, and streamlining the application process for secondary suites while combating speculation

Schreiner was joined by housing experts Dr. Carol Whitzman, adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa, and Graham Cubitt, Director of Projects & Development at Indwell.

“This is not a fringe issue,” Cubitt said. “Affordable housing is a common-place conversation across the province. And permanent supportive housing with wrap-around mental health support is a key piece of the puzzle.”

Dr. Whitzman called on the Ontario government to step up and stop blaming municipalities.

“There’s a lot of emphasis at the other housing summit today that it’s all the municipalities’ fault”, she said. “That’s simply not true. The province needs to step up and scale social housing, retain existing affordable housing through stronger rental protections, and provide more income supports. That’s how we can attain the right to affordable, adequate housing for all.”

Please find the full recording of today’s news conference here.

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