The West End Coalition for Housing Justice is a community development initiative to empower local residents to get involved in the development process and advocate for affordable housing that meets the needs of all neighbours.
Campaign Spotlight: Bill 109 is Not Enough
There are big changes to how planning works in our communities. The government of Ontario has just introduced Bill 109, More Homes for Everyone Act as its first step in implementing recommendations from the Housing Affordability Task Force. Our policy review on the Housing Affordability Taskforce’s report breaks down why Bill 109 won’t do enough to create affordable housing for our neighbours and includes 5 better ideas that will: Community Briefing
This Community Briefing was created by bringing together the expertise, experiences, and perspectives of different Coalition member organisations and resident groups in the Downtown West working on community owned, affordable housing and more inclusive development, including Junction Triangle Community Action Network , Kensington Market Community Land Trust, Build a Better Bloor Dufferin, Habitat Services, Toronto Community Benefits Network, Parkdale People’s Economy, Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust, and West Neighbourhood House.
Coalition Timeline:
The West End Coalition for Housing Justice was developed through 2018-2020 with the generous support of the United Way Greater Toronto to bring together community-based organisations, resident groups, and affordable housing providers. In October 2019, in collaboration with Build a Better Bloor Dufferin, our coalition held an affordable housing forum to discuss redevelopment plans at Dundas Street West and Bloor Street; taking initial steps to outline community priorities for the site, and collect feedback on the draft toolkit. It attracted media attention and provided a strong foundation for housing advocacy going forward. The coalition developed a simple, easy-to-use tool kit to help community members and grassroots groups push for affordable housing in other new developments in Toronto.
Core Coalition partners reactivated the table in December of 2021 and with new members on board all responding to housing issues sharpened during the pandemic and committed to ensuring the development and protection of affordable units are a central part of inclusive recovery efforts in the Downtown West. See our community learning guide on inclusionary zoning in Toronto . Key activities include the design of a West End Development Tracker, supporting campaigns to respond to policy shifts that impact how planning works in our neighbourhoods, as well as building platforms for connected, community-based housing innovation, policy-making , and advocacy.
The coalition developed a simple, easy-to-use tool kit to help community members and grassroots groups push for affordable housing in new developments in Toronto.
The final toolkit can be downloaded in pdf form at this link.