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Housing and Town Planning, 1912
C.A. Hodgetts, M.D., Medical Advisor, Public Health Committee, Commission of Conservation
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Dr. Hodgetts presented an overview of housing conditions in Canada at the third annual meeting of the Commission of Conservation, a federal agency. "We have been doing nothing to better the homes of our people... It is from the standpoint of the health of the people that the all-important question of housing must be approached." Town planning is required, he argues, because planning will "encourage and facilitate through co-operation in the providing of housing accommodation for town dwellers whereby they will have sufficient light, and space."
Town Planning, Housing and Public
Health, 1916
Thomas Adams, Town
Planning Adviser, Commission of Conservation
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At the seventh annual meeting of
the Commission of Conservation in Ottawa, Thomas Adams reports
on progress in town planning. He notes that the war has
curtailed work on civic improvement, but that planning will
benefit postwar readjustment when the time comes. He describes
the existing system of land development as “defective”
and identi-fies a “crying need” for agricultural
policy to ensure stability and permanent settlement in rural
areas. Province by province, he outlines the progress made
towards enacting town planning legislation and the application
of town planning principles in cities throughout Canada.
He concludes with a recommendation for a housing survey
that would contrib-ute to housing legislation in the provinces,
describes progress in raising public aware-ness of town
planning, and urges the provinces to create departments
of municipal affairs to deal with land valuation, taxation,
and assessment.
Housing Experience in Toronto, 1917
G. Frank Beer, President
of the Toronto Housing Company
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G. Frank Beer suggests reforms to
the housing system of the time. He states that the work
of the Toronto Housing Company is not to build housing but
to investigate housing conditions and translate those findings
into action. He recommends reform of the laws governing
housing construction, to ensure that those who live in the
housing have suffi-cient light, air, and sanitary facilities,
and action to ensure that existing housing meets the same
standards. These reforms cannot be viewed in isolation from
wider issues of town planning, such as access to transportation
and the siting of manufacturing plants and shopping areas.
Land tax reform is also needed to prevent speculation in
land and the orderly development of communities. Beer concludes
with a recommendation for a Town Planning Act that would
support these objectives.
Report of the Lieutenant Governor’s
Committee on Housing Conditions in Toronto, 1934
Herbert A. Bruce, chairman
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This excerpt consists of the foreword
and conclusions to the committee’s report. The foreword
explains how the committee was formed and how it carried
out its work, first, of surveying housing conditions among
Toronto’s poorest households, especially those in
Moss Park and the Ward, and second, of gathering information
about housing conditions in general in Toronto and other
jurisdictions. The conclusion contains four recommen-dations:
establishing a City Planning Commission for Toronto; eliminating
by improvement or replacement of 2,000 to 3,000 unfit houses
identified in the survey; demolishing slum areas and providing
low-cost housing; and securing the federal and provincial
gov-ernments’ cooperation in achieving these objectives.
A Housing Programme for Canada, 1935
Humphrey Carver
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Carver believes that the question
of housing should be approached in a holistic manner, not
simply as a matter of clearing slums or building cheap housing,
but of creating an ur-ban environment that promotes free
and healthy citizens. He describes how land speculation
prevents orderly community planning at the edge of the city,
and how devel-opment within the city creates decaying or
blighted areas that tend to become slums. Only town planning
for all citizens (not just those in wealthy areas) will
alleviate these problems. After describing the European
approach to planned housing, Carver recom-mends a federal
authority to provide low-cost housing for families that
would make careful surveys of existing housing conditions
in cities and plan “neighbourhood units” that
would function as complete communities. He suggests that
the needs of many households can be satisfied through the
creation of multi-unit dwellings, and brushes aside the
“sentimental objections” to this kind of housing,
explaining that blocks of flats can be built economically
and can provide comfortable, efficient, healthy housing
for many families.
Calls 1935 Dominion Housing Act a
Comedy of Errors
Montreal Gazette, A speech by Percy
E. Nobbs
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An article from the Montreal Gazette
reports on a speech by Professor Percy E. Nobbs, the McGill
dean of architecture, to the Kiwanis Club of Montreal, in
which he criticized the recently enacted Dominion Housing
Act. The act benefited people who were able to buy houses
worth $5,000 to $12,000. Nobbs pointed out that these people
were already adequately housed and the act failed to benefit
those in the greatest need — those earning very low
wages. He recommended two drastic changes to the Act: the
govern-ment should offer 20% second mortgages to homeowners,
not 80% first mortgages, and that buildings intended for
rental accommodation should be treated the same as owner-occupied
buildings. Nobbs ridiculed the bias towards homeownership,
and stated that the act should be redesigned to benefit
low-income rental households, most of whom were paying more
than they could afford in rent.
Housing in Canada, 1938
F.W. Nicolls, Director
of Housing, Division of Finance, Ottawa
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Nichols outlines the Canadian housing
program of the late 1930s. The Home Improvement Loans Guarantee
Act helped property owners modernize and improve housing;
within 14 months the program had assisted almost 33,000
households in all nine provinces. The Dominion Housing Act
provided renewable ten-year loans for the construction of
new dwellings, and had contributed to the construction of
more than 3,000 family housing units. The Act also stimulated
the creation of low-rent housing, usually by limited dividend
companies. A low-cost housing competition had been held
to stimulate good design of small, low-cost units and the
National Research Council was at work on a National Building
Code. Nicolls is generally optimistic about the future of
housing in the country.
“The Ultimate Housing Problem,”
from Houses for Canadians, 1948
Humphrey Carver
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Canada ended the war with a severe
housing shortage. By 1948, those with the lowest incomes
were still having great difficulty finding affordable, adequate
housing. Carver advocates greater national attention to
the housing shortage, and notes that the City of Toronto,
alone among Canadian municipalities, was building rental
housing through its own public housing authority “because
there is no other way in which such rental hous-ing can
be produced” and because “the economic market
cannot by itself fulfil the hous-ing needs of the Canadian
people.” He also notes that the “crude products
of the speculative builder” often fail to appeal to
stable families with modest means, who prefer to buy older
houses for more money than cheaper, but mediocre new houses,
and advo-cates a greater attention to landscaping, design,
and neighbourhood planning to create communities that will
appeal to home buyers and help to strengthen the housing
market as a whole.
Towards Better Communities, 1950
W. Harold Clark, President,
Community Planning Association
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The address of the president of the
Community Planning Association to the 1950 annual conference
sets planning in the postwar context, when the country’s
priorities were still on military defence. Clark deplores
the “identical strawberry boxes” (modest bungalows)
being built in the suburbs and calls for more attention
to be paid to the quality of life in new developments. He
discusses the recently amended national housing legislation
and the opportunities it offers for good planning, and advocates
government subsidies for housing for low-income families,
which he recognizes cannot be built at a profit by pri-vate
developers. He also describes his experiences at the Twentieth
International Con-gress for Housing, held in Amsterdam in
September 1950, and his impressions of postwar reconstruction
in the Netherlands.
Regent Park Housing Project: Canada's Premier Housing Redevelopment Project, 1951
The Housing Authority of Toronto
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for before and after photos on page 22, click here
for construction photo on p.24, click here
This 27 page brochure describes the development of Canada's first public housing community, Regent Park North. It refers to housing conditions in the area prior to redevelopment, the National Housing Act legislation of 1944, the City of Toronto's enabling legislation, the establishment of the Housing Authority of Toronto, and provides an overview of the details of the design, development, financing and problems encountered.
Housing Research in Canada, 1900-1952
James Gillies, Land Economics, August 1952
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In this journal article Gillies provides a history of the evolution of
Canadian housing research in the first half of the twentieth century.
"Housing research in Canada is conducted largely by government agencies --
academic or private research is practically non-existent. This is, perhaps,
not surprising for two reasons: (1) Basic research in the housing field
consists of the compilation of data for statistical series ... An
independent investigator simply does not have the facilities to do such
work. (2) There is not a strong tradition of academic research in Canada in
the problems of housing."
Housing Administration in Canada,
1952
Albert Rose, Community
Planning Asso-ciation of Canada
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In this article for the journal Canadian
Welfare, Rose notes that “Canadians, and their elected
repre-sentatives and appointed administra-tive officials,
are probably less exper-ienced in the administration of
public housing than the citizens of any other highly indus-trialized
nation, because of our late entry into the field of public
provision and admini-stration of housing.” Rose describes
the difficulties of finding appropriate staff to work in
the public housing sector, and recommends the positions
and responsibilities of executive directors, housing managers,
counsellors and accountants. He also deals with tenant selection,
particularly the issue of segregation versus diversification,
as well as tenant participation and responsi-bility, noting
the lack of attention paid to “the role of the tenant
of public housing as a person, as a citizen, and as a responsible
par-ticipant in the administration of the project.”
Public Housing – Building Toward
a
Great New Canada, 1965
Lester B. Pearson, Prime
Minister of Canada
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In this speech to the Ontario Association
of Housing Authorities, Pearson warns against deadening
uniformity in city planning and an overemphasis on utility
and efficiency in housing. He argues for housing that will
not only provide adequate shelter but allow for the expansion
of the human spirit. He also stresses the importance of
cooperation among the different levels of government and
points out that the federal government has a responsibility
to ensure that housing programs achieve their goals, that
national stan-dards are set and observed, and that the poorer
provinces receive extra help to meet those standards. He
mentions the current levels of federal assistance for housing
and concludes with a strong statement about the importance
of public housing in building a “great new Canada.”
Poverty in Canada, 1968
Economic Council of Canada
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In its fifth annual review, the Economic
Council of Canada points out that the poor of Canada number
in the millions and that the persistence of poverty in a
country otherwise distinguished for the high standard of
living available to most of its citizens, is a disgrace.
The ECC notes that poverty is largely invisible to middle-class
people and distinguishes poverty from low income, since
students may live on low incomes without being perma-nently
trapped in a hopeless existence. True poverty is characterized
by poor health, bad housing, hopelessness and alienation
from the rest of society. The article concludes with statistics
on the extent of poverty and a discussion of some of the
problems involved in defining poverty and poverty levels.
Poverty—A Major Issue Confronting
Canada, 1969
Wilson A. Head, Director,
Social Planning Council of Metropolitan Toronto
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This text was prepared for a conference
of the Liberal Party held in Harrison Hot Springs. Head,
director of the Social Planning Council of Metropolitan
Toronto, defines poverty not only in economic terms, but
in psychosocial terms, as a condition leading to despair,
apathy, and alienation. He criticizes the existing welfare
system as both inadequate and humiliating to those who depend
on it, and points out that economic conditions whereby workers
are displaced by technology have helped to perpetuate and
increase poverty in Canada. He recommends a guaranteed annual
income based on negative income tax for those below a certain
income level. He adds that support programs must be developed
in consultation with those who will use them and that the
country must work to eliminate discrimination against poor
people.
Report of the Task Force on Housing and Urban Development,1969
Paul T. Hellyer, M.P., Minister of Transport, Chair
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From page 1: "The Federal Task Force on Housing and Urban Development, appointed August 29, 1968, represented a new departure in inquiry-making. While sanctioned by Cabinet decision, it possessed none of the legal powers or formalities of a Royal Commission or other such investigative body. Its terms of reference were broad and informal -- 'to examine housing and urban development in Canada and to report on ways in which the federal government, in company with other levels of government and the private sector, can help meet the housing needs of all Canadians and contribute to the development of modern, vital cities.'"
Speech on Housing and Urban Affairs,
1972
Ron Basford, Minister
of State for Urban Affairs
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In an excerpt from Hansard, the Minister
of State for Urban Affairs describes the minis-try’s
mandate: “to co-ordinate the activities of the government
of Canada in estab-lishing co-operative relationships with
the provinces and their municipalities for the enhancement
of the human environment.” He makes a plea for greater
cooperation among all levels of government in solving urban
problems and describes the achievements of his ministry
to date, including consultations with the provinces and
many municipal governments and with Central Mortgage and
Housing Corporation on new approaches to housing. Basford
describes the Liberal government’s “colossal”
housing programs—in 1971 alone, 233,000 new units
were started and 200,000 completed—and attributes
the activity to the National Housing Act of 1964, which
spurred the creation of public housing.
Inquest into the Death of Drina Joubert,
1986
Verdict of Coroner’s Jury
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Drina Joubert was a homeless, alcoholic,
and mentally ill woman who froze to death in an abandoned
truck behind a house on Sherbourne Street in Toronto in
December 1985. The coroner’s jury states that despite
her attempts to seek help from practically every available
social agency and hospital service in the city, she was
unable to overcome her problems or find permanent housing.
The jury finds that the bureaucracy designed to help people
like Drina was unresponsive, inefficient, and inadequate.
The report offers 20 recommendations directed to the Queen
Street Mental Health Centre, hostels, drop-in centres, and
the Addiction Research Foundation Detoxification Centre,
as well as government departments responsible for housing.
In particular, the jury cites the lack of affordable housing
and supportive housing for those with mental health problems
as an urgent priority for the city.
Finding Room: Housing Solutions for
the Future, Chapter 2, “Ade-quate Shelter: A Fundamental
Human Right,” 1990
National Liberal Caucus Task Force
on Housing, Co-Chairs: Paul
Martin, M.P. and Joe Fontana,
M.P.
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This task force report contains the
press release (titled “ ‘The Government Has
Given Up On Housing’ – Liberal Task Force On
Housing”), the table of contents of the report, and
the text of chapter 2, Adequate Shelter: A Fundamental Human
Right. Martin and Fontana state that the government has
abandoned its responsibility for housing, even though the
housing crisis is escalating. The report, which contains
recommendations for action, reviews the history of housing
considered as a fundamental human right, citing the United
Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights of
1948 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights of 1966. The task force endorses the
concept of housing as a human right and recommends that
the issue of shelter rights be discussed at the next first
ministers’ conference.
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