Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada: Housing Co-ops Call on Ministers to Act Now

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 1, 2008) - As the Federal-Provincial-Territorial housing ministers prepare to meet tomorrow, housing co-ops are calling on the ministers to show leadership and help the 4 million Canadians who need housing, the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada said today.

"In the last few days, housing co-op members have written more than 100 letters to Minister Solberg, the federal minister responsible for housing," said Nicholas Gazzard, Executive Director. "They are urging the federal government to show leadership on the housing crisis and develop, with all levels of government, a multi-year plan to end housing need. Only a stable, multi-year funding program will fix Canada's shortage of affordable housing."

CHF Canada supports the recommendations set out in Sustaining the Momentum, a National Action Plan on housing and homelessness developed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Although the federal government has allocated funds in recent years, we are very concerned about the March 2009 expiry of all of Ottawa's housing development funding and the longer-term loss of federal funding, as operating agreements come to an end for housing co-operatives and other forms of affordable housing.

CHF Canada is the national voice of the Canadian co-operative housing movement. Its members include nearly 900 non-profit housing co-operatives and the organizations that support them.