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CHF Canada media release
 Previous release Media release index Next release May 28, Victoria, BC The 700 people arriving in Victoria today for the annual meeting of the Co‑operative Housing Federation of Canada, will see the things tourists usually see – the flowers, the boats in the harbor, and the horse-drawn carriages. But they will also notice the number of homeless people in the city. They know that, with Victoria’s rental vacancy rate of .4 percent, many renters are at risk of homelessness. The meeting’s delegates will be arriving with plans to do something about Canada’s affordable housing crisis. “CHF Canada’s Board of Directors has put forward a motion asking us to call on the federal government to take action on Canada’s affordable housing shortage,” said Nicholas Gazzard, CHF Canada’s executive director. “Our members have affordable homes but they know that too many people in Canada still need a home they can afford. We know who these people are because they call our offices and apply for our long waiting lists.” CHF Canada has a successful lobbying record. Gazzard was named one of Canada’s top 100 lobbyists for CHF Canada’s work in securing federal funding for renovation and retrofits in the last federal budget. The application process for the funds was announced last Sunday by Diane Findley, the federal Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The Minister’s Parliamentary Secretary, Ed Komarnicki, will be speaking to the business meeting at 1 pm on May 30 and presenting the CMHC award for outstanding contribution to co‑operative housing. The meeting will take place in the Victoria Conference Centre. At each annual meeting, attendees raise funds for a local group that helps the homeless. This year CHF Canada members will be raising funds for the Victoria Women’s Transition House. CHF Canada is the national voice of the Canadian co‑operative housing movement. Its members include nearly 900 non-profit housing co‑operatives and other organizations across Canada. More than a quarter of a million Canadians live in housing co‑ops, in every province and territory. For more information, contact: Nicholas Gazzard, Executive Director (613) 293-8913 (cell) ngazzard@chfcanada.coop Merrilee Robson, Program Manager, Communications, (778) 227-3864 (cell) mrobson@chfcanada.coop |
