Toronto’s backward on public housing: Get ’em out, not in
article by Margaret Wente (Globe and Mail)

L-R, Cathy Dandy, Joe Pantalone, Jack Layton, Peter Tabuns, Paula Fletcher

We used to live across the street from a couple of public housing duplexes. The tenants were lovely. They included two obese ladies who had to take a taxi to the supermarket, and a guitarist who lived in the basement. Since they didn’t work, they were always around to keep an eye on the neighbourhood. The buildings were nicely maintained by city workers, and pleasantly located right next to the lake. No wonder the tenants never moved out....

Many of the elderly and disabled, of course, will always need subsidized housing. But others won’t. Subsidized housing, Ms. Glover believes, creates a culture of dependency that she’s determined to change. The Atlanta Housing Authority requires its able-bodied beneficiaries to work. People who don’t work can lose their right to a subsidized apartment, and management has broad authority to kick out people for misbehaviour...

In Toronto, the average length of stay in public housing is 10 years. Some single-parent families stay in public housing for generations, and only 36.5 per cent of working-age households have employment income. Yet, rather than helping people to move out of public housing, housing lobbyists keep arguing that what we need is more people moving in. Perhaps it's time to change our measure of success. We shouldn’t be proud of how many people live in public housing. We should be ashamed.

Read more at the Globe and Mail

Comments:


Charles Runner
Lets face the fact that there are many people who have real needs and issues that limit their ability to get and pay ofr reasonable housing.
There are also many people that simpily choose to live off the system for free. You need thoughtful rules and policies to deal with the two groups appropriatly. Toronto Leftist policise simply believe that everyone will do their best and that everyone in public housing is there as a last resort.
WRONG!!! - Didn't work in Russia, isn't working here!!!
Many useres of public housing are there as a first step in living off the public purse for the rest of their lives.


Haselcheck Average stay in subsidized housing is 10 years ??????
Toronto is an enabler....Perfecting the WELFARE STATE....


L Rob Affordable housing and a linkage to working are necessary.
To simply supply a perceived need with no responsibilities attached is creating a culture of dependency that serves no purpose.


shoshanab The THC should not own ANY houses. They should all be sold at market value and other units in mixed use and mixed income building built with the money. NO ONE deserves a house on the public dime. A subsidized unit perhaps but not a house.