Housing Crisis Summit Delayed Due to Major COVID Crisis

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Upset by an even more urgent health crisis, Prime Minister Doug Ford’s housing crisis summit scheduled for Thursday was postponed until the new year.

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Ontario Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark said Wednesday that the emergency summit will be canceled “to allow leaders at all levels to support their communities as we work together to respond to the evolving situation of the public health”.

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, one of the city leaders invited to attend the summit, was already in Toronto meeting with government officials when Clark announced the cancellation. Ford called the meeting less than a month ago, stating that he wanted to hear from others about any proposals or suggestions they might have to address what he described as a housing affordability “crisis” for many Ontarians.

The goal of the summit, Ford said, was to find solutions to “enable more families to realize the dream of owning their own home.”

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The sudden onset and rapid spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant has increased pressures on healthcare systems and led to increasingly restrictive government measures on public gatherings and movements.

The Ontario Housing Affordability Summit is scheduled for January 19, ahead of the Ontario Rural Municipal Association annual conference on January 23-25.

“Addressing housing affordability is a critical priority for our government as we advance our progress to make it easier for more Ontarians to find a home that meets their needs and budget,” Clark said in a statement Wednesday.

The Housing Minister noted the formation of the Progressive Conservative Government of a Housing Affordability Task Force, as well as an online consultation process that seeks public input on Ontario.ca/HousingAffordability. The online site includes a poll open to the public until January 13.

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“These consultations will help our government identify and implement additional steps with our partners to help realize the dream of homeownership for more Ontarians,” Clark said.

Both Ford and Clark have pointed the finger at the municipal level, claiming that “red tape” delays for homebuilders to obtain local permits and approvals before construction starts is a costly problem, as is the lack of supply of new lands being opened for Residential Subdivision Development.

Others, however, are urging more action and support from higher levels of government, arguing that simply opening up more land to more subdivisions will not address affordability for many.

Dilkens, who could not be reached for comment on Wednesday, previously said that the skyrocketing house prices in Windsor have become a problem and that the city administration would help prepare local contributions for the provincial summit of housing with other mayors.

“What was always in Vancouver and Toronto is now a problem for all mayors of all Canadian cities,” he told the Star.

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