Nipissing District Housing Needs, Supply & Affordability ... - dnssab

SECTION I: THE GOVERNMENT’S ROLE IN PROVIDING AFFORDABLE
HOUSING
1.0 General Summary
The following is a general summary of the Government’s role in providing affordable
housing. Nipissing District’s current housing situation is in many respects, a reflection of
past policies and programs that have been implemented at the provincial and federal
levels. To gain a better understanding of why affordable housing is where it is today
requires this broader perspective. It should be noted that the following is specific to
social housing, and there are other perspectives on social housing from other
organizations, NGO’s, etc. which are not presented in the following summary.
There has always been a need to assist some Canadian Citizens with the basic
necessities of life. Although this need can be traced back to Canada’s Independence in
the mid-19 th century, it was perhaps during the Great Depression years of the 1930’s,
where these needs became most prevalent. With the resulting low economic activity and
high unemployment, it became evident to many Canadians that Government intervention
and assistance would be required, to help the less-fortunate survive. While emergency
relief efforts were required during the Great Depression, these gave way to more
formalized Government programs, and by the end of the Second World War, the
Government had established unemployment Insurance and family allowance programs.
Various reports on social history indicate that random housing efforts during the early
1900’s lead to most of the poor having to fend for themselves -shantytowns were
common sights on the edge of some of Canada’s larger cities, and inner-city slums could
be found near industrialized areas or railway tracks. Often it was the lowest-paid workers
(transients and permanent residents) that occupied these ‘slum ghettos’. While
determining the actual “starting point” of a formal social housing system in Canada is
subjective, many would consider it to be in 1938, when the National Housing Act was
established. 1 The main objectives of this first act were the construction of new houses
and the general improvement of housing and living conditions. Although it was basically
ineffective (by 1940, not a single unit of shelter had been produced under this legislation)
it laid the groundwork for future programs. The following Wartime Housing Act saw a
boom in housing construction through to 1949. 2 Funded primarily by the federal
Government, this public housing consisted of low-rent units targeted towards army
workers and returning veterans. With the establishment of the Canadian Mortgage and
Housing Corporation (CMHC) in 1945, the federal Government was becoming fully
involved in the Canadian housing industry. As one of its objectives was to support the
provision of adequate housing for Canadians, the CMHC focused on providing
homeownership opportunities by providing lower-than-market interest rates, reduced
down payments and extended amortization periods.
1. Prior to this, the Dominion Housing Act of 1935 was the main Government housing legislation, but it
focused primarily on establishing housing standards and stimulating housing construction (thus reducing
unemployment).
2. Between 1941–1949, approximately 46,000 units were created at an expenditure of $254 million.
Nipissing District Housing Needs, Supply & Affordability Study, May 2008. 1