Province to assess value of public housing portfolio
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/09/2020 (1827 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Three years after a review of Manitoba public housing found increasing demand, aging buildings and a lack of funding, the province has announced it will take a full inventory and assess its value to come up with a strategic plan.
The announcement from Manitoba Families Minister Heather Stefanson, whose portfolio includes Manitoba Housing, came Tuesday afternoon, along with the start of a public tender process. The government is seeking consultants who can assess each of its 3,483 public-housing properties across the province.
“As outlined in the Department of Families mandate, this review will ensure the government has accurate data to make informed decisions for years to come, and that we continue to provide safe and affordable housing to thousands of Manitobans who need it,” Stefanson said in a statement.
Some housing advocates worry, however, the move is another step toward privatization of Manitoba’s public housing.
Shauna MacKinnon, head of the University of Winnipeg’s department of urban and inner-city studies, said the government assessing the value of public-housing properties is a signal it intends to off-load them.
“My perspective and the perspective of people who are concerned about housing for the most vulnerable (is) this is exactly what we don’t need to do, and especially right now, when we have this situation that is increasing the number of people that are in vulnerable housing situations,” MacKinnon said Tuesday.
She said the timing of the government announcement — during a pandemic, and just two days away from lifting the pandemic-related evictions ban — is “outrageous,” when more people are vulnerable and in need of more public housing, not less.
In 2017, KPMG conducted a review of Manitoba Housing for the government that recommended transferring public-housing units to the private sector.
It found a significant portion of buildings were at least 35 years old and were getting more expensive to operate, along with increasing demand for public housing. When it introduced its pre-pandemic budget in March, the province set out the beginning of its five-year plan to transfer ownership of public housing units to non-profit agencies.