Halton Region Housing Task Force presents final report to Regional Council

At the Regional Council meeting on November 18, Halton Region’s Housing Task Force unveiled its final report. Presented by Jeff Knoll, Regional Councillor and Chair of the Housing Task Force, the report outlines a series of short-term actions and medium and long-term recommendations that will help create new affordable housing in Halton.

Included among the short-term actions, a total of $3 million in funding for eight new affordable housing initiatives in the Region was approved by Council in October. A total of seven community agencies will receive funding to execute the new affordable housing initiatives that will create up to 13 new housing units and 21 new beds in shared living residences. Between 125 and 133 individuals annually will benefit from these housing projects.

“On behalf of Council, I would like to thank Councillor Knoll and the members of the Housing Task Force for their assistance and leadership on this important issue,” said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. “The allocation of the $3 million dollars in funding will directly address affordable housing needs in Halton and create new housing units for families and individuals. The Task Force is to be commended for turning around this significant report in such a short period of time.”

The Halton Region Housing Task Force was formed in November 2008, at the request of Regional Council, with a mandate to create affordable housing strategies quickly. Residents and organizations were invited to share their ideas for affordable housing options in Halton at two public meetings held on May 14 and May 21, 2009.

“I am very proud of what the Housing Task Force has been able to accomplish,” said Jeff Knoll. “The Housing Task Force played a key role in generating the momentum and ideas that are behind the affordable housing solutions in the report. We need to keep on listening, learning and adopting together to keep this momentum alive.”

Among the medium-term activities identified in the report is a recommendation for the Halton Community and Housing Corporation to take on an enhanced development role in the building of new affordable housing. The HCHC has recently created a development committee to help access provincial and federal funding resources as they become available.

Long-term activities in the report are identified as those which require changes to existing policy and, therefore, may take longer to implement. To view the complete Halton Housing Task Force report, go to www.halton.ca Council/Committee documents.

Support Our Sponsors