We still have a long way to go before the housing crisis is properly addressed, assuming we have the political will to get there.
A new report by the Ontario Living Wage Network says you need to earn $21.95 an hour to afford living in Ottawa, a 12-per-cent jump over last year. Apparently this is the largest year-over-year increase in the province. We win something, yay us!
But seriously.
Ottawa’s living wage threshold is the third-highest in the province after Toronto ($25.05) and Grey Bruce Perth Huron Simcoe ($22.75). So Ontario’s actual minimum wage, at $16.55, isn’t enough to pay your basic bills and still have the ability to “enjoy modest participation in civic and cultural life.” I guess that means something slightly nicer than a value meal every so often.
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The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Ottawa is $1,625 a month and I have both a question and a statement: 1) Where in this town can you get a semi-decent two-bedroom for that price? and 2) Better not have too many kids, eh?
It’s easy to despair, especially if you’re a young person struggling to find decent employment and having to delay buying a house and having children because you just can’t figure out how to make the math work. As the proud owner of three teenagers, I guarantee you I feel your pain. And I’m a Gen-Xer who’s also an artist. Not quite knowing how I’ll be able to afford what I want is second nature at this point.
But we chug along and continue to push for the kind of social change that would ensure big decisions are taken with the interest of young people in mind. It would help a lot if young people voted more than they typically do, by the way. Nothing quite like a fat juicy bundle of reliable votes to make politicians pay attention to your concerns.
In the meantime, we have to make do with crumbs of good news. In particular, the announcement by the federal government that it would build over 2,800 housing units on its surplus properties across Canada. Of those, about 1,600 will be in Ottawa and will include a little over 200 affordable units.
As many experts have noted before me, these numbers are way too small (and more than a little late) to address the housing crisis properly. But they are something.
Another measure that has helped is the tightening of regulations related to short-term rentals such as Airbnb in the city. The 2022 bylaw only permits people to list their principal residence (rural residences and cottages are also allowed but require a separate permit) and owners have to fill out paperwork and pay fees that, while not financially crippling, are noticeable.
According to a report prepared by director of bylaw and regulatory services Roger Chapman, “the permitting regime has been functioning as intended” with compliance in the 70-to-85 per cent range. What this means is that the number of listed properties decreased significantly in the first year, as did complaints for noise and other kinds of nuisance. Like gunshots, say.
It’s no secret that when short-term rentals aren’t regulated, they take away housing units from the long-term market because investment property owners stand to make a lot more renting out their units on platforms such as Airbnb than they do finding a long-term tenant. There is something very wrong in a society when a significant group of people — including people who work very hard for wages that are barely high enough to cover basic necessities — don’t have a place they can call home because investors scoop up those units and use them for profit.
Housing should be a right, not an investment. And that needs to be true regardless of income. We have a long way to go before the housing crisis is properly addressed, assuming we have the political will to get there. But it’s also important to recognize small steps in the right direction — and woot-woot accordingly.
Brigitte Pellerin (they/them) is an Ottawa writer.
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Pellerin: Two cheers for affordable housing improvements in Ottawa
12
1
10.11.2023
We still have a long way to go before the housing crisis is properly addressed, assuming we have the political will to get there.
A new report by the Ontario Living Wage Network says you need to earn $21.95 an hour to afford living in Ottawa, a 12-per-cent jump over last year. Apparently this is the largest year-over-year increase in the province. We win something, yay us!
But seriously.
Ottawa’s living wage threshold is the third-highest in the province after Toronto ($25.05) and Grey Bruce Perth Huron Simcoe ($22.75). So Ontario’s actual minimum wage, at $16.55, isn’t enough to pay your basic bills and still have the ability to “enjoy modest participation in civic and cultural life.” I guess that means something slightly nicer than a value meal every so often.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
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The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Ottawa is $1,625 a month and I have both a question and a statement:........
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