Bill 12, The Housing and Renewal Corporation Amendment Act, is close to becoming law but we need your help to improve it. The NDP proposed Bill 12 to help prevent the loss of social and affordable housing, such as what happened in 2023 with Lions Place – a non-profit housing complex for low-income seniors that was sold to the for-profit Mainstreet Equity Corporation. Bill 12 would require consent from Manitoba Housing for the demolition, change of use, or sale of buildings owned by many non-profit and co-operative housing providers.
While a positive step forward, the Bill has several shortcomings. Many social and affordable housing units won’t be protected. For example, the Bill would not protect the roughly 16,400 units in buildings owned by Manitoba Housing. It would also not protect buildings with funding agreements that expired prior to the Bill becoming law (another 7,000 units as of 2021). Therefore, if Lion’s Place hadn’t been sold yet, Bill 12, if enacted today, could not protect it since its funding agreement expired in 2018. We have been advocating for several amendments that would strengthen the Bill. None have yet been adopted.
There is one last chance for amendments when the Bill is debated at Third Reading, which will happen as early as October 27. One key amendment must urgently be adopted: the authority to consent to a sale, demolition, or change of use of a publicly-funded building must rest with the Minister responsible for housing and not with Manitoba Housing as currently proposed. The power to protect publicly-funded social and affordable housing is of critical importance. This power must reside with the Minister so the public can see clearly the decisions that are being made and hold elected representatives accountable for the protection of taxpayer-funded social and affordable housing.
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