About the Author
Tsahai Carter is a recent graduate of the University of Ottawa where she studied Political Science and Languages. As a student, Tsahai was active in her school community, promoting anti-racism and equity as a student mentor and a Deputy Director of her faculty’s internship program. She is passionate about public policy and Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. Tsahai completed her 2022-23 Urban Alliance on Race Relations Youth Policy Fellowship placement with the Broadbent Institute.
Watch the full report presentation at the 2023 Progress Summit
Executive Summary
As the Ontario government begins to undertake the task of addressing housing affordability in the province, it is important to consider both long-term and short-term change. To relieve the current housing crisis, the government needs to take immediate action to curb real estate investment and limit the negative impacts of existing investors. However, to ensure that similar housing affordability crises do not reoccur in the long-term future, the Ontario government also needs to introduce new models of housing that decommodify affordable dwellings, rather than expecting for-profit actors to provide market-led solutions.
This report presents a variety of solutions available to policymakers for combatting the financialization of housing. Rather than recommending one particular course of action, this paper will demonstrate how a suite of policies can be implemented jointly for the most effective results.
While this paper will focus on the provincial regulation of real estate investment and combating financialization, addressing the housing crisis and creating sustainable affordable housing in Ontario will require many considerations beyond increasing housing supply. The federal government and municipal governments are key partners in any housing initiatives. Further, zoning policies and the regulation of developers and construction practices all play a large role in the housing system.
Urban Alliance on Race Relations
This report was developed with the Urban Alliance on Race Relations and the UARR Policy Youth Fellowship; an innovative pilot program aimed at enhancing opportunities for Black and Muslim youth in the Greater Toronto Area across three sectors:
- Arts,
- Environment, and
- Public Policy/Government
The program offers placement opportunities with a partnering organization in one of the sectors along with enriching training and mentorship experiences.
‘Beyond Simply Building More: Policy Options for Combatting the Financialization of Housing in Ontario’ is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
