Item - 2019.PH11.5

City Council on December 17 and 18, 2019, adopted the following:

1.  City Council adopt the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan included as Attachment 1 to the report (November 26, 2019) from the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services, and its recommended actions as the framework to guide the City's efforts over the next 10 years to strategically and effectively addressing housing and homelessness needs.

2.  City Council direct the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat and the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services, in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer and the Executive Director, Financial Planning, to establish a consolidated list of actions identifying funding needs for a 10-year period, informed by the federal and provincial funding commitments and third party partnerships, reviewed annually for consideration as part of the City’s annual budget process.

3.  City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services to include a request for $250,000 in the 2020 Housing Secretariat operating budget submission to be used to establish a housing fund and identify options to access private capital to support the development of affordable rental housing, and to report to City Council on the results by the third quarter of 2020.

4.  City Council approve, in principle, the new 10-Year Investment Plans for the Housing Now Initiative and Open Door Affordable Rental Housing Program outlined in the Financial Impact section of the report to activate the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan and support the creation of 20,000 new affordable rental and supportive homes.

5.  City Council direct the City Manager to establish the role or function of Housing Commissioner in 2020 and request the City Manager to report to City Council by the third quarter of 2020 with options for the function to independently assess implementation of the revised Toronto Housing Charter and the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan and ensure that the City, within its legislative authorities, and through implementation of various programs and policies, is taking concrete actions to combat systematic housing discrimination and address systemic hurdles in the housing system.

6.  City Council request the City Manager, in examining the establishment of a Housing Commissioner role, to consult with human rights experts and other groups and individuals with an interest in the establishment of the position.

7.  City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to include $70,000 in the 2020 Operating Budget submission to be used by Neighbourhood Information Post to administer and hire an additional Full-Time Employee for the Trusteeship Program to maintain caseloads at a 1:50 ratio, reduce the current waiting list, and manage clients with increasingly complex needs for trusteeship services.

8.  City Council direct the City Manager to forward the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan to the Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, including a full list of recommended actions in Attachment 2 to the report (November 26, 2019) from the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services, and estimated costs to:

a.  inform current and future housing policies, programs and initiatives; and

b.  request continuation of existing programs to 2030 as well as new and enhanced investments in Toronto in the amount of $6.9 billion in provincial investment in from 2020-2030 to address the health, socio-economic and environmental well-being of residents in the city and the region.

9.  City Council request the Provincial Government take the following actions to mitigate the rising number of homeless persons in Toronto:

a. identify Provincially-owned space which could be made available for emergency homeless shelter this winter and, should City staff request these sites on a short-term basis, immediately provide them for this use;

b. require municipal governments receiving Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI) funding to build new shelters that provide sufficient capacity to accommodate their local homeless populations;

c. immediately expand funding to create new supportive housing units in the City of Toronto to transition people experiencing homelessness from shelters to permanent housing;

d. create a specific funding stream for shelter services in Toronto that is responsive to sudden increases in demand for services, and in recognition that many people from underserved municipalities are accessing Toronto’s emergency shelter system; and

e. provide equal rent scales for Ontario Works/Ontario Disability Support Program recipients regardless of what type of housing they reside in.

10.  City Council request the City Manager to forward the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan to the Federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, including a list of recommended actions in Attachment 3 to the report (November 26, 2019) from the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services and estimated costs to:

a.  inform current and future housing policies, programs and initiatives; and

b.  request continuation of existing programs to 2030 as well as new and enhanced investments in Toronto in the amount of $6.4 billion in federal investments from 2020-2030 to address the housing crisis impacting the health, socio- economic and environmental well-being of residents in the City, the region and the country as a whole.

11. City Council request the Federal Government take the following actions to mitigate the rising number of homeless persons in Toronto:

a. identify Federally-owned spaces which could be made available for emergency homeless shelter this winter and, should City staff request these sites on a short term basis, immediately provide them for this use;

b. develop a federally administered system to house refugee/asylum claimants who arrive in Toronto without adequate housing;

c. create a predictable funding regime to ensure the city is quickly reimbursed for its expenditures for providing temporary housing for refugee/asylum claimants; and

d. immediately expand funding to create new supportive housing units in the City of Toronto to transition people experiencing homelessness from shelters to permanent housing.

12.  City Council request the Government of Canada to immediately fund and accelerate development of an Emergency Housing Allowance Fund to prevent additional people from falling into homelessness and to quickly move people out of shelters into permanent housing.

13.  City Council recognize that homelessness in Toronto is a critical issue requiring expedited action by all levels of government.

14.  City Council recognize that homelessness in Toronto is an ongoing critical and emergency issue requiring the Provincial and Federal governments to commit on an expedited basis to build on the initiatives the city has taken to date.

15.  City Council advise the Provincial and Federal governments that the following actions have been taken by the City over the last five years:

a. the City has added more than 3,000 shelter beds since 2015. Toronto’s shelter system has more than 7,000 beds across 64 permanent shelters and motel/hotel programs. Close to 2,300 beds in hotel-based programs are designated primarily to serve families. The City operates 11 shelters directly and provides funding to community agencies for the operation of the remaining 53 shelters;

b. in addition to the existing 24-hour respite sites with 414 spaces, the City has opened six new services this winter, adding 485 spaces, for a total of at least 899 spaces available as part of the 2019-2020 winter services plan with additional contingency spaces that may be activated as needed. This is an increase over the 805 spaces provided last winter, and significantly more service than 2014 when just two services were provided during Extreme Cold Weather Alerts only. This is the sixth consecutive winter that the City will increase overall capacity to ensure safe and welcoming places for people who need them; and

c. since 1998, the City of Toronto has warned that homelessness is a national crisis that requires urgent action on housing by Provincial and Federal governments. 

16.  City Council request the Federal and Provincial Governments, as part of their 2020 Budgets, to commit to capital and operating funding to support the creation of 1,800 new units of supportive housing annually, in order to reduce homelessness in Toronto.

17.  City Council request the City Manager to engage other levels of government in order to establish an Intergovernmental Working Group with a mandate to secure increased investment and support from the other levels of government to expedite the City's initiatives to address housing challenges and homelessness in Toronto.

18.  City Council request Provincial and Federal representatives to meet with City staff and appropriate stakeholders before January 15, 2020 to develop an immediate six-month action plan and strategy framework that expedites the City’s initiatives to address housing challenges and homelessness in Toronto including:

a.  identifying the unaddressed low-income housing support gaps, including those of mental health and addictions, economic insecurity, long-term health issues and any challenge that may contribute to homelessness in Toronto;

b.  identifying and recommending programs, supports, and services that can be provided on an expedited basis by the appropriate levels of government respective to their jurisdictions but in collaboration with each other to prevent homelessness upstream and provide the current population with accessible options for dignified, stable, secure and supportive housing; and

c.  reporting on rapid re-housing and other coordinated approaches to quickly move people out of shelters and into permanent housing whenever possible and track performance indicators to demonstrate the effectiveness of this response and incorporate what is learned into next steps.

19.  City Council request the City Manager to report to the Planning and Housing Committee on February 12, 2020 and June 11, 2020 with an update on the progress of discussions from the Intergovernmental Working Group.

20. City Council request the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat to incorporate the work of the Student Dwell TO initiative, a collaboration of the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, York University, and OCAD University, into the next annual update to City Council on the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan.

21. City Council request the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat to further engage postsecondary institutions and students with respect to the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan to ensure student housing needs are formally addressed in the next steps of the Action Plan.

22.  City Council request the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services and the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat to report by June 2020 to the Planning and Housing Committee with a detailed implementation plan for the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan.

23.  City Council request the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services to report by June 2020 on any additional City staffing resources necessary to support implementation of the HousingTO 2020-2030 Plan, and to be considered as part of the 2021 City Budget process.

24.  City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter Support and Housing Administration to take the following actions to deal with the urgent issue of homelessness in Toronto:

a. continue to look for sites, both City and privately owned, to complete Council’s previously approved plans for shelter expansion;

b. continue to explore opportunities to maintain and expand the regional refugee strategy and provide housing opportunities for refugee households in surrounding municipalities;

c. continue to develop opportunities to partner with the Toronto Community Housing Corporation to access vacant units in order to provide housing opportunities for people experiencing homelessness; and

d. continue to work with the Toronto Alliance to End Homelessness to continue to expand the Coordinated Access to Housing and Supports system and increase housing outcomes for people experiencing chronic homelessness.

25. City Council direct the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration, the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration and other applicable staff to:

a. support the City of Toronto's Rent Bank program, administered by the Neighbourhood Information Post, by undertaking the following actions no later than February 2020:

1. improve the program’s visibility on the City of Toronto’s website; and

2. find new channels and opportunities to educate the public about the Rent Bank program’s existence and function.

b. undertake an evaluation of the Rent Bank program administered by the Neighbourhood Information Post and develop new options for the enhancement of the program including opportunities to extend the program to tenants in rent-geared-to-income (RGI) units by the end of 2020.

26.  City Council endorse an Indigenous set-aside for new affordable housing units, including more deeply affordable housing units.

27.  City Council request the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat to report to the Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee with recommendations on an Indigenous set-aside for new affordable housing units, including more deeply affordable housing units, no later than May 2020.

28.  City Council request City staff to consider the presentation from Randy J. Pitt, Reaching Home Manager, Aboriginal Labour Force Development Circle, as part of the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan.

29.  City Council adopt the principle that the affordability period for any affordable rental housing built on City land or receiving City funding, subsidy, or incentives shall be permanent, wherever possible.

30.  City Council acknowledge and thank the participants that contributed to the development of the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan, including members of the External Advisory Committee, organizations that hosted community-led consultations, stakeholders in the housing sector, the public, City staff and LURA Consulting.

31.  City Council request Mayor Tory and Deputy Mayor Bailão to send letters of appreciation to the following members of the HousingTO 2020-2030 External Advisory Committee:

Pedro Barata, United Way of Greater Toronto, Ryerson University

Kris Boyce, Greenwin

Alyssa Brierley, Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation

Cherise Burda, Ryerson City Building Institute

Cheryll Case, CP Planning

Daryl Chong, Greater Toronto Apartment Association

Tom Clement, Co-op Housing Federation of Toronto

Geordie Dent , Federation of Metro Tenants Associations

Debbie Douglas, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

Judy Duncan, ACORN Canada

Kira Heineck, Toronto Alliance to End Homelessness

Matthew Huxley, People With Lived Experience Group - Toronto Alliance to End Homelessness

Brian Kelcey, Toronto Region Board of Trade

Kelly Lawless, Lived Experience Advisory Group (LEAG)

Lisa Levin, AdvantAge Ontario

Heather McGregor, YWCA Toronto

Harmy Mendoza, Woman Abuse Council of Toronto

Jason Mercer, Toronto Real Estate Board

Glenn Miller, Toronto’s Seniors Accountability Table

Ingrid Palmer, Tenant's First Advisory Panel

Emily Paradis, Urban Studies University of Toronto Maytree Fellow

David Reycraft, Co-Chair Dixon Hall

Moray Tawse, First National

Steve Teekens, Na-Me-Res 

Steven Torresan, Dream Team

Diane Walter, Margaret’s Housing and Community Support Services

David Wilkes, Building Industry and Land Development Association

and to the following organizations that hosted community-led consultations:

Acorn

Africans in Partnership Against Aids

Anishnawbe Health Toronto

APG Toronto Equity Forum

Artscape

Bangladesh Centre and Community Services (BCCS)

Black Urbanism TO

Bob Rumball Canadian Centre of Excellence for the Deaf

Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) 

Centre for Equality Rights In Accommodation

Centre for Independent Living in Toronto

Community Living Toronto

Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto

Davenport Perth Neighbourhood and Community Health Centre

Dream Team and Houselink

Elizabeth Fry Toronto

FCJ Refugee Centre

Flemingdon Thorncliffe Inter-Agency Network

Indigenous Housing and Resource Collective of Tkaronto

Institute for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society (IRIS)

Jane/Finch Community and Family Centre

Kerry’s Place Autism Services

Lakeshore Affordable Housing Advocacy and Action Group   

Le Comité Francophone de Scarborough

Mainstay Housing

Margaret’s Housing and Community Services

Native Women’s Resource Centre

North York Community House (Lawrence Heights, Neptune)

PARC

Romero House

Regenesis York

Rooming House Project
(Includes Dixon Hall Services, Homes First and Ecuhomes)

Scarborough Community Legal Services

Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities

Scarborough Civic Action Network

St. Stephen’s Community House

Sistering

Social Planning Toronto

Springboard

Springtides and FTMA

The 519

The Housing Help Centre

The Redwood

The Neighbourhood Organization (TNO)

Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre

Unison Health and Community Services

Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre

Weston Tenants Association

Women’s Habitat of Etobicoke

Woman Abuse Council of Toronto

Woodgreen

2 Spirited of the First Nations