Delays in Co-operative Housing Development Program Jeopardize Affordable Housing Goals

At our 2023 AGM on November 19, delegates passed an emergency resolution. The resolution deals with the Government of Canada’s delay in launching the Co-operative Housing Development Program (CHDP).

The CHDP was announced in April 2022 as part of Budget 2022. It committed the reallocation of $500 million of funding from the National Housing Co-Investment Fund to expand co-op housing in Canada. This new program is to be co-designed with the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada and the co-operative housing sector, including CHF BC.

Alas, to date there has been no movement by CMHC or other government agencies on the creation or delivery of this fund. CHF BC and the rest of the co-op housing sector anxiously awaits the launch of this program. Co-ops and sector partners are eager and ready to deliver and create more co-op homes. With the current financial climate, the delays in launching the CHDP have a direct and mounting cost effect on shovel-ready co-op housing projects.

These delays are untenable. Co-op housing is needed now more than ever. Housing co-operatives offer housing at-cost to their members and operate on a not-for-profit basis.

Research has proven that co-operatives offer greater stability and affordability over time compared to market housing. Increasing the supply and scale of co-operative housing via a dedicated and tailored co-op housing development program will help more people in Canada access housing that is affordable and meets their needs. This will advance the right to housing and bring more equity to Canada’s housing system.

Resolution Text

WE RESOLVE:

1. THAT CHFBC urge the federal government and the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities to launch the Co-op Housing Development Program without further delay.
   
   
2. THAT CHFBC works with local municipalities and the province to voice their support of the Co-op Housing Development Program and launch as soon as possible.
   
   
3. AND THAT CHFBC work with members and CHF Canada to achieve this goal. 

OUR REASONS FOR THIS RESOLUTION ARE: 

1. The Co-operative Housing Development Program was announced in the April 2022 Federal Budget. The co-op housing sector anxiously awaits the launch of this program. Co-ops and sector partners are ready to deliver and create more co-op homes. 
   
   
2. The economics of new housing construction continues to be challenging. Delays in launching the Co-operative Housing Development Program have a direct cost effect on projects that are shovel-ready.
   
   
3. Extensive consultation occurred with the co-operative housing sector as part of the co-design, most notably through a Sector Advisory Committee. This Committee includes a diverse and representative group of leading organizations and individuals operating and developing co-op homes; together, they offered guidance on the needs of the sector, the practicality of proposed solutions, and identified strengths and barriers to proposed programing.
   
   
4. Co-op housing is needed now more than ever. Housing co-operatives offer housing at-cost to their members and operate on a not-for-profit basis. Research has proven that co-operatives offer greater stability and affordability over time compared to market housing.
   
   
5. Creating more co-op sector development capacity and increasing the supply and scale of co-operative housing via a dedicated and tailored co-op housing development program will help more people in Canada access housing that is affordable and meets their needs. This will advance the right to housing and bring more equity to Canada’s housing system.