FRAPRU calls out to the Liberal Party of Canada Leader : « Hey Justin, when will you make commitments for social housing? »

Montreal, February 20th 2014 Discouraged by the laxity of the Harper government regarding social housing, the Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU) was at the Liberal Party of Canada Convention’s doors to demand that they make concrete commitments in the platform that they will present for the Fall 2015 general elections. The FRAPRU displayed a huge banner directly calling out Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. The hundred people present also made themselves heard knocking noisily on pots and pans.

Basing its analysis on 2011 data from Statistics Canada, the FRAPRU takes offense that 1,623,000 tenants households spend more than the norm of 30% of their income on rent in Canada, among which 774,000 who spend more than 50%. In the Papineau riding represented by Trudeau, 39 % of the tenants pay more than the norm. The FRAPRU also reminds that in 2013, at least 200,000 people are homeless in Canada, according to a very conservative estimate.

In light of these facts, the organization demands that the Liberal Party make a commitment to invest massively in the construction of social housing, including in Nunavik and in First Nations communities where the situation is of extreme urgency. We estimate that Ottawa would have the means to invest 2 billions $ a year in new social housing instead of the 253 millions $ that the conservative government has presently planned for affordable housing.

The FRAPRU also asks the Liberal Party to make the commitment to announce, as soon as it would take power if elected, the preservation of the long-term subsidies still granted to 586,000 existing social housing units. It is alarming that 44,000 units have already lost their subsidies since 2006 and that 93,000 more will be affected through 2017. According to the FRAPRU, this hemorrhage must be stopped as soon as possible to protect the financial accessibility to the social housing park, not only for current tenants but also for individuals and families that have urgent needs and that could access it in the future.

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For more informations :

In English: Émilie E. Joly (514) 231-2309 (cellulaire); (514) 522-1010
In French: François Saillant, (514) 919-2843 (cellulaire); (514) 522-1010
www.frapru.qc.ca
@frapru