John Tory puts Kathleen Wynne, Toronto MPPs on notice over lack of social housing cash

“I guess what we need now is for them to try harder,” mayor said of local MPPs as he toured an Etobicoke neighbourhood on Sunday, demanding provincial help to tackle a $1.73-billion housing repair backlog.

Thestar.com
April 30, 2017
By Jennifer Pagliaro

Mayor John Tory is putting Premier Kathleen Wynne and her Toronto-area representatives on notice as the province continues to come up empty on funding for badly needed social housing repairs.

“Time to stand up for Toronto,” read the flyers that the mayor’s office plans to circulate in Toronto Community Housing communities across the city in the coming days, after a provincial budget announced last week contained no new money for repairs. There is currently a $1.73-billion backlog with thousands of units at risk of being boarded up.

“The Ontario government is not helping to get your housing fixed. Say no to closing housing in this community,” the flyers read.

Tory had the printed papers in hand on a bitterly cold Sunday morning as he toured the Thistletown complex, an Etobicoke neighbourhood of townhomes built in 1968 near Finch Ave. W. and Martin Grove Rd.

Stopped by the mayor on her way to church, Thistletown resident Florence Bonsu said her unit, like many others, was in need of repair.

“There’s a water problem downstairs,” she said - when it rains, it floods. “Too much water. Sometimes we have to throw some of the things away.”

Both the flyers circulated Sunday, and Tory in his remarks to reporters, called on Etobicoke North MPP Shafiq Qaadri to help the vulnerable residents he represents.

“I guess what we need now is for them to try harder,” Tory said of local MPPs in light of the latest budget news. “What we saw is what we got, which was unfortunately a big goose egg when it came to social housing repairs.”

Qaadri could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Toronto Community Housing Corp. officials reported last week that they plan to close 1,000 units by the end of next year, displacing those families, if more money for repairs can’t be secured. There are more than 181,000 people on the wait list for subsidized housing.

Next year, there is a $350-million shortfall in the repairs budget as the city awaits details from recent federal funding announcements and demands action from the province. The repair needs are significant, including structural deficits, failing roofs and faulty elevators.

The mayor said more than 100 units in Etobicoke North alone were at risk.

The city’s own ongoing cash crisis and Tory’s continued commitment to low property taxes will put significant pressure on his administration in an election year if the other governments don’t come up with the needed funds.

Tory was joined by local Councillor Vincent Crisanti, who has more than 1,700 public housing units in his Etobicoke North ward.

“These families deserve our support to live in safe, well-maintained homes,” Crisanti said. “And we plan to make sure our provincial partner shares that same vision and hope that they’ll be part of the solution and not the problem.”

Though the province did promise surplus land last week to build new affordable housing, Councillor Ana Bailao, a member of the Toronto Community Housing board whom Tory appointed as the city’s housing advocate, asked whether any such contributions can be enough if a $1.73-billion repairs gap remains.

“Does it make sense to be building on one location while allowing units to close on another?” she said.