Protests sprung up in Toronto on Wednesday ahead of the Canadian Government’s much anticipated National Housing Strategy announcement.Activists congregated in downtown Toronto, demanding more social housing. About 200 people gathered at Allan Gardens in the afternoon, then marched to Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s constituency office, unfurling a banner reading “Stop the hypocrisy, build social housing now.” Protestors bellowed chants and blocked traffic along the way. Concurrent with the demonstration in Toronto were sister protests in other Canadian cities including Vancouver and Montreal.Activists from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty said the emphasis should be on social housing over affordable units. By definition, affordable housing in Toronto and Canada “is at, or just below market rent,” said organizer Yogi Acharya. “Low-income people can’t afford at market rent. It’s a hoax.”A rent supplement program, packed into the national strategy, won’t help, either, he continued, because public housing stocks are scant.“It merely puts money in the pockets of private landlords, not in the pockets of poor people,” he said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced details of the plan in Toronto Wednesday afternoon at Lawrence Heights, a large-scale redevelopment project spearheaded by Toronto Community Housing. With assistance from municipalities and community groups, Trudeau’s plan outlined details on building new housing and repairing existing units, aiming to reduce homelessness by half.In March, the federal government earmarked $11.2 billion in the budget for affordable housing plans to be paid out incrementally over 11 years. During the next five years, about $3 billion would be allocated.Randy Mclin, a member of the coalition, who was at the demonstration at Allan Gardens ahead of Trudeau’s announcement, said Ottawa’s housing plan is “bunk” because t ...
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