Tory calls on province, feds, to help pay for community housing repairs

More than one-third of Toronto Community Housing (TCH) stock is in poor or critical condition and Toronto’s mayor is stepping up the pressure on the federal and provincial governments to help cover the multi-billion dollar repair backlog.

John Tory says the city is doing its part to pay off its share of an estimated $2.6 billion in needed repairs.

According to a report, approximately 12,000 TCH units will become uninhabitable by 2023 if the repairs are not done.

Tory says there’s a moral case and a business case for the other two levels of governments to contribute as the investment will create jobs as well as benefit current and future community housing residents.

“We have come up with and are presently investing $864 million,” Tory said. “So we’re asking the other two governments to take a one-third share each, which we think is appropriate given the fact that it is not feasible, or fair, I think, to ask property tax payers, alone, to shoulder that burden.”

As for the announcement this morning from the province about some money to fight homelessness, Tory says it is simply a two-year extension of an existing program and has no bearing on the repair backlog.

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