2025.PH18.6

Background

Ensuring that all types of housing along the housing spectrum are available, especially affordable and supportive housing, is crucial as the impacts of the climate crisis worsen. People experiencing homelessness are at a higher risk of getting heat stroke in the summer and worsening air quality from forest fires coming in from the north. These climate events can negatively impact the physical and mental health impacts of Torontonians, particularly people experiencing homelessness. For this reason, we need affordable and supportive housing now. In recent years “the City of Toronto has taken an increased role in the creation of new supportive and rent-geared-to-income (RGI) homes for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, particularly since the adoption of the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan (HousingTO Plan) and as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite increased action and investments, Toronto’s housing and homelessness crises have worsened. Deeply affordable rental housing is at risk of being lost, and difficult and volatile economic conditions have made the construction of new housing, particularly RGI, supportive, rental homes, more challenging. The shortage of supportive homes, inadequacy of social assistance rates, and need for greater mental health and social supports is illustrated most starkly by the rising number of encampments in Toronto.”

Source: City of Toronto

Item Description

“This [item] reiterates requests of the federal and provincial governments to make the investments needed to build more supportive homes, and requests authorities to submit applications for new projects through the new Affordable Housing Fund - Rapid Housing Sub-stream.”

Source: City of Toronto

Proposed by

Planning and Housing Committee