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TRANSCRIPT
Regeneration of Public Housing: Finding the Champions May 29, 2012
This Presentation
1. A non-partisan political perspective on regeneration
2. The fiscal environment
3. Regeneration in tough times
4. What is the role of public housing today?
5. What would success look like?
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A NON PARTISAN POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE
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Politics
• Lots of definitions…
• “The process we use for the allocation of scarce resources.”
• We speak through platforms, policy studies, etc.
• We act through budgets and operational plans
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Scarce Resources: It is not just cash…
“You can never be too rich or too thin”
--The Duchess of Windsor
The government equivalents…
1. Money
2. Vision
3. Mechanics: time & know-how
4. Political will and courage
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Nothing Happens without a political Champion…
THE FISCAL ENVIRONMENT
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Fiscal condition is forcing change
• We all know “it’s bad.” It’s worse.
• Public sector transformation is needed to attain goals
• Budget was just first step: • Sustained and Difficult
• Government now compelled to even “go after its’ friends”
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The Reality of holding growth to 1%
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50
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54Harris (CAGR 3.4%)McGuinty (CAGR 1%)
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•Sustaining this path would yield a result tougher than the Harris years
Things will be very different
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0.00%
2.00%
4.00%
6.00%
Projected Spending Growth
5 Year Avg.
2012-2013
2013-2014
2014-2015
2015-2016
2016-2017
2017-2018
Competition among priorities will be intense
REGENERATION IN TOUGH TIMES
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Is this the right time for regeneration?
• Yes. No money to throw at unmet needs.
• Must strive for productivity
• In the midst of challenge there is opportunity • Regent Park Regeneration
began in August 1995
• Two Types of regeneration:
• Physical regeneration
• Vision regeneration
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Physical Regeneration
Physical
• State of good repair
• Measured in hundreds of millions • Always difficult choices for
managers operating with inadequate resources and aging stock
• Land and construction costs up
Quantity
• Ability to meet demand
• Measured in terms of waitlists • Hundreds of thousands
• Years
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What`s there is good. There is never enough to meet need.
Example: YWCA Elm Street • Exciting project: 300 affordable
apartments for:
• single low-income women,
• women with children,
• women living with mental health and addiction issues
• families of Aboriginal ancestry.
• $21M Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program.
• $15.7 M City of Toronto
• $15 M + raised by YWCA Toronto
• How it was described in the press release:
• “created up to 750 jobs”
• “helps to meet the housing needs of families and individuals in the Toronto area”
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What does this say about the communications of the project?
Good Policy?
Political Doubts in Housing Policy… applicable to all parties…
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Faith in Implementation?
Affordable
Good Politics?
Credit?
Money
Vision Mechanics
Will
Vision Regeneration
• Clearly articulated statement of role in the system
• Vision: Resolve doubts on role relative to other forms
• Resolve Doubts on Implementation
• Help build Political Will – for this, and relative to other priorities
• (And then maybe get some more money…)
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Nothing Happens without a political
Champion…
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF PUBLIC HOUSING?
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What is the role of public housing?
• “How is it different from an ordinary Landlord?”
• The Lesage Report re: Al Gosling (2010) • “There exists throughout the TCHC community an element of confusion over
the role of staff and the scope of services to be offered to tenants given the lack of clarity regarding its mandate.
• Recommendations: TCHC must better communicate its mandate. It is a landlord, not a direct provider of social work services, but it must assist tenants to identify, locate and contact appropriate support services.”
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Discussions of other models…
• “How would a low income housing benefit align with social assistance reform?”
• Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario
• How would this affect public housing?
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Evolution of Income Support Policy
• The logic of income support is evolving
• More integrated
• Focus on labour force attachment
• Housing benefits: enabler or disenabler of getting clients to work?
• Fear: RGI = Welfare Trap and once you are in it you cannot leave it
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WHAT WOULD SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?
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Everyone wants the same things…
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Client-centred
Get rid of silos
New Partnerships
Single point of service
Resolve privacy issues
Innovative
Better KPIs
Better results
Accountable
What success looks like
• Give them something they can embrace
• Recapture the sense of mission or calling
• Real people who benefit
• Real measurements to prove it
• Real efficiencies so they can (honestly) say it’s the best ever – and it will make a difference…
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Good Policy?
Progress on all fronts…
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Faith in Implementation?
Affordable
Good Politics?
Credit?
Money
Vision Mechanics
Will
What success would look like?
• Debate shifts to “how” or “how much”, not “if” (or silence)
• All party support…like in the 80’s
• The path to regenerating the stock starts with regenerating the vision.
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