Hi neighbours,
Hope everyone had a wonderful Canada Day! I had the opportunity to take part serving residents at the Mayor’s Canada Day breakfast. I enjoyed seeing many Bay Ward residents there. The weather turned out great and I enjoyed stopping by some events in the community as well, including Crystal Beach/Lakeview’s Annual Canada Day party.
A data-informed approach to housing in Ottawa
Last Friday, I participated in a technical briefing for the City of Ottawa’s Housing Needs Assessment (HNA), a data-informed report describing the current and projected housing needs for people in our city. The data is available on Open Ottawa, and you can also watch the full Technical Briefing on Youtube (aussi disponible en français).
One of the most significant findings of the report was that housing affordability pressures are increasing across multiple income groups and neighbourhoods in Ottawa. This is particularly true for lower income renters and those needing supportive housing. While the City and its partners have supported over 2,000 new affordable and supportive housing opportunities since 2020, the scale of need continues to grow.
The findings point to the importance of longterm, system-wide investment to ensure all residents have access to housing that meets their needs. These findings were further underlined in the recently released 2024 Progress Report for the City’s 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan. The progress report shows that while 1,000 households were housed from the Centralized Wait List in 2024, there continues to be more that 14,000 households waiting for housing.
As Chair of Ottawa Community Housing, I’ve seen first hand the critical need for deeply affordable housing in our city, and the life-changing positive impacts that long term housing can have on people. I will continue to work with my colleagues on Council and City Staff to ensure we prioritize the housing needs of our city’s most vulnerable, including those with complex needs who would benefit from wraparound services through supportive housing. I’ll also continue to advocate for both the provincial and federal government to provide municipalities with sustainable operational funding for these inititiatives.
If you want to have your say on the City’s Housing and Homelessness Plan, you can share your feedback through Engage Ottawa. Together, we can end chronic homelessness in our city, and ensure that all Ottawa residents have a safe and healthy home.
Read this week’s newsletter for more updates from the city, and events across Bay Ward.