National Housing Day Marked in Winnipeg
Right to Housing’s Day of Action on November 22 started at 8:00 A.M. at the LITE Wild Blueberry Pancake Breakfast. This is a hugely popular annual affair that brings Winnipeg’s historic Northend together with left leaning and socially conscious groups from political and non-profit sectors. We engaged the services of the Raging Grannies who sang their touching protest songs of housing need and homelessness to about 250 people. Later in the morning we hosted a press conference at the Willow Park East Housing Co-operative. About 45 people, many from a variety of housing co-ops came out to support the initiative. On the panel were Christina Maes Nino, Program Analyst and Researcher, Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, Tammy Robinson, Program Manager, Manitoba, Co-operative Housing Federation and Anita Durand, President and resident of the Willow Park Co-operative Housing Association. The chair was Clark Brownlee. Co-ordinator of Right to Housing Coalition.
Together the speakers presented the stark reality of how the expiring operating grants will destroy Canada’s rich investment in social and co-operative housing unless the Federal Government sits down with the Provinces and Territories to work out a new funding agreement to sustain existing social housing. It was pointed out that as the operating grants expire, both levels of government will be saving millions of dollars that could and should be reinvested in preserving what we have.
During the morning petitions were circulated and signed by 144 people at both venues. The petitions were addressed to the Federal Government supporting the three points agreed upon and central to every action across Canada:
*Sustain existing social housing
*Create more social housing
*Establish a national housing strategy in collaboration with the Provinces and Territories
CTV News ran a documentary of the event on their evening news broadcast