Here’s what we are working on:
- To prioritize building 100,000 new homes in our city over the next ten years.
- Deliver on the city’s community housing commitments, building 1,000 units per year.
- Take a balanced approach to the development of our city that prioritizes smart intensification, respects community design plans, and does so without expanding Ottawa’s urban boundary.
- I have brought together Ottawa Community Housing, not-for-profit housing providers, homebuilders, building trades, unions, planners, colleges and universities, citizen groups, other governments, city staff and others to create a detailed strategic plan, with concrete actions and timelines, to break down the barriers to getting the housing we need to be built with no expansion of the urban boundary.
- I have tasked City Staff with streamlining and quickening the approval processes to bust through the red tape that prevent housing from being built. We are examining what incentives and innovations are needed to get housing built, in a way that is thoughtful and respects community design plans.
- I have renewed my commitment to the goal of ending chronic homelessness in Ottawa. This objective requires the collective efforts of the City of Ottawa, other levels of government, community organizations and the community as a whole. I have met with many different groups who are working hard in this area, including the Alliance to End Homelessness, Salus Ottawa, Shepherds of Good Hope, the John Howard Society, and many others. These are all people who dedicate themselves to addressing and solving this crisis. The first piece of our comprehensive strategy is a framework to transition single adults experiencing homelessness out of Physical Distancing Centres and shelters and into transitional and supportive housing. The City has developed a responsive and effective plan to provide support to people in need as they transition to a more permanent home. And we continue to work together on other solutions to help us reach the goal of ending chronic homelessness in Ottawa.
- We have achieved a remarkable milestone in our city. We now have more supportive housing units than shelter beds. This milestone is significant in that is highlights our approach to homelessness by prioritizing supportive housing, which focuses on providing stable, long-term solutions for individuals experiencing homelessness. With more supportive housing units than shelter beds, we are reducing our reliance on temporary solutions to homelessness. By investing in supportive housing, we are addressing the root causes of homelessness and working towards sustainable solutions that lead to lasting positive change.
