In January 2020, City Council declared a housing and homelessness emergency. Since then, the City of Ottawa has funded the construction of 460 affordable homes, but there is still a backlog of 1,796 units awaiting funding.
According to new research by Carleton professor Steve Pomeroy, Ottawa loses 31 deeply affordable rental homes for every one that we build. The average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Ottawa is now over $2,000/month. Moderately priced apartments have all but disappeared due to renovictions, demovictions, and a lack of provincial rent control. Building non-profit housing is more important now than ever
Ending homelessness is not just a moral imperative, but absolutely crucial to building an equitable and prosperous city. It would take $370M split between all three levels of government to get shovels in the ground for every single one of the affordable housing projects that are still awaiting funding.
In order to attract investment from the federal and provincial governments, our city needs to show the highest level of ambition to tackle the affordable housing crisis and end homelessness.
The draft 2024 city budget invests $23.8 million in the capital budget for affordable housing. We are asking Ottawa City Council to raise this to $30 million. This would double the commitment to affordable housing in the city's long-range financial plan. It would get more affordable homes built faster. It would save taxpayers money long term and show that Ottawa is serious about ensuring that everyone has a place to call home.
By signing this petition, I hereby acknowledge that this petition will become a public document at the City of Ottawa and that all information contained in it will be subject to the scrutiny of the City and will be publicly available.