TAKE ACTION Let Mayor Fougere and your City Councillor know you want them to take action

to solve Reginas housing crisis. Mayor Michael Fougere Ward 1: Barbara Young Ward 2: Bob Hawkins Ward 3: Shawn Fraser Ward 4: Bryon Burnett Ward 5: John Findura Ward 6: Wade Murray Ward 7: Sharron Bryce Ward 8: Mike ODonnell Ward 9: Terry Hincks Ward 10:Jerry Flegel 777-7339 or mayor@regina.ca 539-4081 or byoung@regina.ca 789-2888 or bhawkins@regina.ca 551-5030 or sfraser@regina.ca 737-3347 or bburnett@regina.ca 536-4250 or jfindura@regina.ca 596-1035 or wmurray@regina.ca 949-5025 or sbryce@regina.ca 545-7300 or modonnell@regina.ca 949-9690 or thincks@regina.ca 537-9888 or jflegel@regina.ca

HOUSING CRISIS
LETS DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
NO VACANCY

MAKING PEACE VIGIL EVERY THURSDAY 6 KEY FACTS until breaks out
1. Reginas rental vacancy rate is 1.8%. A healthy vacancy rate is 3%. 2. In 2010, the last year for which figures are available, over 3,400 people used Reginas shelter services. 3. Many others double bunked, couch surfed, or lived in overcrowded unhealthy conditions. Some even lived in cars or garages. These latter groups could easily double the number of homeless people in Regina. 4. Today, the citys shelter system is filled to capacity. 5. The average monthly rent for a one bedroom apartment in Regina is $875. A full-time minimum wage worker, earning $1,736 per month cannot afford it. Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation defines affordable housing as costing a household 30% or less of its beforetax income. 6. A significant amount of rental housing in Regina is below acceptable standards.

FROM noon to 12:30 pm ON SCARTH STREET AT 11TH AVENUE

EVERYONE IS WELCOME
For further information please contact Florence Stratton: florence.stratton@uregina.ca Catherine Verrall: cfverrall@gmail.com On the web: http://makingpeace.wordpress.com

This flyer is distributed on Treaty 4 territory. It printed on 100% recycled acid-free paper. MAKING PEACE VIGIL April 3 2014

WHAT IS CITY COUNCIL DOING TO ADDRESS REGINAS HOUSING CRISIS?

The short answer to this question is ALMOST NOTHING! For years, Regina City Council claimed housing does not come under the jurisdiction of cities. Now Mayor Michael Fougere is saying Homelessness is not a municipal responsibility. Thats a direct quote. The citys new housing plan uses a made in Regina definition of affordable rental housing as housing with rents at or below average market rent. As everyone knows, market rent housing is not affordable for many Regina citizens. The citys new housing plan calls for the city to offer developers of market rental housing a capital incentive of $15,000 per unit. In other words, the city is shifting millions of dollars of taxpayers money into the pockets of developers who will not be building any truly affordable rental units. City Council has rejected repeated requests to implement a rental unit licensing policy to ensure rental housing in Regina meets minimum health and safety standards.

SOLVING REGINAS HOUSING CRISIS

The City of Regina cannot solve all Reginas housing problems. There are, however, a number of measures the city can take which will go some way towards addressing our citys housing crisis. The City of Regina can: Start seeing homelessness as a municipal responsibility which requires concrete action as have other cities, including Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Saskatoon. Apply the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporations definition of affordability to rental housing: The cost of adequate shelter should not exceed 30% of household income. Require developers who receive the $15,000 per unit capital incentive to rent 10% of the units at the truly affordable rate of $500 per month. Require all developers to include truly affordable housing in their plans or pay a fee into an affordable housing account. Invest all revenue derived from the development or sale of city-owned land in social housing when the rental vacancy rate is below 3%. Deny applications for rental property demolition permits when the vacancy rate is below 3%. Introduce rental unit licensing. Seize property that does not comply with city codes, as well as abandoned and boarded-up houses. Repair seized units and convert them to social housing. Pressure the provincial government to pass rent control legislation. Adopt a Housing First policy and ask the provincial government to support it as Calgary and Edmonton have done in Alberta.

BANKSY

HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT

Safe, secure housing is a human right. It is protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, [and] housing. The right to housing is also enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, signed into law in 1982. Because it puts their health and life at risk, homelessness breaches a homeless persons Charter Section 7 rights to life, liberty and security of person.

If the City of Regina can build a social stadium a stadium built with public money it can also build social housing.