Affordable Housing: Everyone’s Right

NBNPHA Conference – May 7-8, Saint John, NB

Office of the Ombudsman and Child and Youth Advocate

What is Acceptable Housing?

Affordability: Must be less than 30% of before-tax household income and must not threaten other basic needs

Legal security of tenure: security against forced eviction, harassment or other threats

Has adequate services, materials and infrastructure: safe drinking water, energy for cooking, heating and lighting, sanitation and washing facilities, means of food storage, refuse disposal and emergency services

What is Acceptable Housing? (Continued)

Habitability: has adequate space and offers protection against weather, health threats and structural hazards

Accessibility: housing must be accessible to those entitled to it, including those who may have special needs

Location: Permits access to employment opportunities, health care, schools, child care and other social facilities

Culturally adequate: allows for the expression of cultural identity

Acceptable housing is a human right

Unacceptable Housing

In 2006, there were more than 29,000 households in need of acceptable housing in NB.

Subsidized Housing in NB

Number of provincially subsidized housing units: In Bathurst: 632 In Saint John:

1,949 In Moncton: 1,318 Total in NB: 7,167

Number on the provincially subsidized housing waiting list:

In Bathurst: 200 In Saint John: 1,064 In Moncton: 671 Total in NB: 4,079

Experiencing Homelessness: The First Report Card on Homelessness in New Brunswick, 2009.

6Above photo: garbage outside of an apartment building in Woodstock First Nation. A recent Telegraph Journal article describes the building as “a sad place for any adult, it is a deplorable, unsafe slum for children.” The front door of the building is smashed, a side door is missing and people smoke drugs in the hallway.

Housing Crisis in NB First Nations

First Nations housing

Overcrowding Mould Rat infestations Poor insulation Holes in walls and

floors Housing shortages,

long waiting lists People live in

condemned houses 3rd world

conditions

Percentage of Private Dwellings requiring Major repairs

7.5% 9.7%

Canada New BrunswickNB Aboriginals

(on and off reserve)

23.8%

Percentage of private dwellings requiring major repairs in NB First

Nations:Kingsclear: 52%Tobique: 47%

Esgenoôpetitj: 45%Elsipogtog: 40%Eel Ground: 39%

Metepenagiag: 37%Eel River Bar: 32%

St. Mary’s: 24%

Poverty In New Brunswick

13.8% of New Brunswickers live in poverty. 45.4% of single mothers in New Brunswick live in

poverty. 16.4% of people under the age of 18 in New

Brunswick live in poverty. 10.9% of New Brunswick seniors live in poverty. 17.5% of Aboriginals in New Brunswick are below

Statistics Canada’s low income cut off after tax.* In Fredericton, there are nearly 500 families and

individuals on the Affordable Housing Wait List.**

Based on the 2006 Census. http://www.gnb.ca/0017/promos/0001/povertynb-e.asp

*http://www.cccg.umontreal.ca/RC19/PDF/Noel-A_Rc192009.pdf

**The First Report Card on Homelessness in Fredericton, New Brunswick, 2009.

Poverty in NB First Nations

Six of NB’s First Nations communities rank among the 10 poorest postal codes in Canada according to median income data from Statistics Canada: Kingsclear, Eel Ground, Tobique, Elsipogtog, Red

Bank and Esgenoôpetitj. The median income in these communities was

below $14,000 in 2006. Esgenoôpetitj ranked as the poorest

neighbourhood in Canada with a median income of $9,200.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2010/02/23/nb-poorest-communities.html

Affordable Housing Initiatives in NB

Department of Social Development Rental Assistance Programs Rental Construction, Acquisition and Repair Programs Home Repair, Completion and Purchase Programs

Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan Federal and provincial investment of $75 million under

the amended Canada-NB Affordable Housing Program Agreement

Investment of $3.2 million to improve housing conditions in NB First Nations communities

Skigin-Elnoog Housing Corporation Serves NB’s off-reserve Aboriginal population Off-Reserve Aboriginal Home Ownership Program:

subsidized mortgages for off-reserve Aboriginals with household incomes below $50,000 who are first-time home buyers

Overcoming Poverty Together: The NB Economic Social Inclusion Plan

Introduced in February 2010 Aims to reduce income poverty in NB by 25%

and deep income poverty by 50% by 2015 Includes plans for the development of a

comprehensive housing strategy that enables mixed income neighbourhoods, affordability, supported housing options and co-op housing

Social assistance reform: social assistance recipients are no longer penalized for having roommates

The Residential Tenancies Act was recently amended to protect the rights of roomers and boarders

NB Tax System Reform

In 2009, the NB Minister of Finance released The Plan for Lower Taxes in New Brunswick 2009-2012 which introduced reductions in personal and corporate income tax rates.

In 2009, the UNB Dept. of Economics released a detailed analysis of the tax reform, which concluded that it “will reduce the tax burden on the vast majority of taxpayers, with the exception of those at the very bottom of the income scale.” The tax reform will widen the income disparities between families in NB: Families with income between $10,000 and $20,000 will receive

less than 1% of the total value of the tax reduction although they represent 11% of the population.

The biggest gainers are the taxpayers in families with income above $300,000: they will receive 12% of the value of the tax reduction although they represent 0.5% of the population.

Ruggeri, Joe and Bourgeois, JP. “Regressing towards Proportionality: Personal Income Tax Reform in New Brunswick.” Working Paper Series 2009-03. Department of Economics, UNB.

Conclusion

Access to affordable housing is fundamental to the reduction of poverty in New Brunswick

Affordable housing is everyone’s responsibility: government, the private sector, the non-profit sector and the public at large

Self-sufficiency cannot be attained without affordable housing for everyone