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Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate)

@housingforce.bsky.social
1.5K followers 2.3K following 159 posts

YIMBY trying to hold the government accountable for housing policy failures.

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Reposted by Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate)
Shawn Micallef @shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 9h
So much respect for this, and the framing. ABC, the right wing version of Progress Toronto, has used health care workers/hospitals as reason to rip them out. This puts a lie to that (and on University ambulances can bypass cars in the wide bikelanes if needed). So many lies.
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Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate) @housingforce.bsky.social · 11h
👇💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
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Reposted by Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate)
Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 19h
Don't forget that this was the handpicked Chair of Ontario's housing "plan" implementation team. In case you are wondering how we got here. news.ontario.ca/en/release/1...
To help communities across Ontario build more attainable homes, Ontario is also launching the Housing Supply Action Plan Implementation Team (HSAPIT). HSAPIT will provide advice on market housing initiatives, including building on the vision from the Housing Affordability Task Force, More Homes for Everyone and other government consultations. The government intends to appoint Drew Dilkens, Mayor of the City of Windsor, as Chair and Cheryl Fort, Mayor of the Township of Hornepayne, as the Vice Chair. The other Team members will be selected in the coming weeks, with the first meeting scheduled for early fall
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Grow Together Edmonton @growtogetheryeg.bsky.social · 19h
In Edmonton, our zoning bylaw has enabled thousands of homes in our central neighbourhoods, with relatively little redevelopment. Despite exagerations about ruining the neighbourhood from anti-infill groups, only a sliver of all properties in the small-scale residential zone have been redeveloped.
Line chart showing homes permitted by neighbourhood type and project type from H1 building permits, 2009-2026Stacked bar chart showing RS Zone redevelopment in Edmonton from Jan 2024 to Sep 2026. Three bars represent 2024 (0.45%), 2025 (1.07%), and 2026 (1.55%) redevelopment rates against ~140,000 total RS-zoned properties. Dark navy dominates each bar (not redeveloped), with thin colored segments above showing project types: single detached, addition/conversion, backyard house, duplex to fourplex, fiveplex to eightplex, 9+ row house, and 9+ apartment. Data from Jacob Dawang, City of Edmonton Open Data.
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Reposted by Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate)
Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"In the states examined in this analysis, a drop of approximately 20% in inflation-adjusted rents—as happened in Austin, Texas, and Minneapolis after those cities made reforms—could reduce poverty by 18% to 26% and child poverty by 21% to 38%." www.pew.org/en/research-...
pew.org
The Housing Shortage Is a Major Driver of Poverty
Housing costs are usually the largest item in a household’s budget and can determine a family’s financial stability.
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Oliver Moore @oliver-moore.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
All those Toronto drivers who shouted about bike lanes' [non-existent] effect on emergency vehicles will no doubt throw their support behind congestion pricing. Right?
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Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate) @housingforce.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I have spent zero time pondering why rent is lower in Edmonton than in Halifax and I don’t want anyone to explain it to me. Instead I’m going to invent “non-market housing you can buy”, that will be subject to the same land use policies that make housing expensive to build.
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Reposted by Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate)
Paris Marx @parismarx.com · 28/09/2026
The lie that privatization will reduce wait times is already being exposed, but that won’t stop political leaders from continuing to try to destroy our public healthcare system.
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Andrew Longhurst 🇨🇦 🍉 @alonghurst.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The Ontario government is aggressively privatizing surgeries and medical imaging—core hospital services My new @policyalternatives.ca research study evaluates whether this policy direction reduces wait times and serves the public interest www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... #onpoli
policyalternatives.ca
Not adding up: Surgical and diagnostic privatization in Ontario | CCPA
The Ontario government favours for-profit delivery of surgeries and medical imaging, but the evidence shows this isn't good health policy
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Reposted by Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate)
Mike Schreiner @mikeschreiner.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Removing bike lanes is not going to help congestion. This government is spending millions of dollars making roads less safe and removing infrastructure, rather than building for the future.
spacing.ca
EXCLUSIVE: Inside the contract to rip out Toronto's bike lanes - Spacing Toronto
After the Ontario Court of Appeal (ONCA) shot down CycleTO’s legally innovative charter challenge that sought to stop Doug Ford’s attack on the city’s bike lanes, Queen’s Park wasted little time befor...
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Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate) @housingforce.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
What do I think about “blanket” zoning? Like, when you only allow detached single family homes in residential neighborhoods? I think blanket zoning like that limits choice and overall housing supply, pushing up rents, forcing people to live farther away from work so they lose out on family time.
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Reposted by Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate)
Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Finally, a Premier with the courage to ask: do people really need housing *in* the cities where their jobs are? Why not simply commute for three hours a day so that Christine can continue to imagine she lives in a small village?
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Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
An elderly couple doesn't like the new housing going up next door. So what? This is not news. They'll suffer minor inconvenience. But no one is forcing them to move. And they have the freedom to sell their big multimillion-dollar house and live comfortably elsewhere.
cbc.ca
Toronto needs more homes. These neighbours say they're paying the price | CBC News
An elderly downtown couple says they’re shocked and upset that the city has approved a duplex next door to their three-story Victorian home that they say will tower metres above their chimney and rend...
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Kevin Wilson @kwilsonhfx.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
“Before taxpayers are asked to spend more, we should seriously consider whether there is a better approach," says Kevin Wilson following news that the suburbs cost more to operate than they generate in revenue.
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Eric Lombardi (EricForOLP.ca) @ericlombardi.ca · 25/09/2026
It's time to end Ontario's era of "Tall and Sprawl". Our archaic building code rules have resulted in housing that is uglier, more expensive, and with fewer units that make sense for families. By changing the rules, we can build communities more beautifully and affordably.
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Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate) @housingforce.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
“we have to figure out what are the trade-offs between providing more density, versus being sensitive and respectful to existing homeowners.” This is wrong. We need to force people to consider the trade offs from blocking housing and how that causes homelessness. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Toronto needs more homes. These neighbours say they're paying the price | CBC News
An elderly downtown couple says they’re shocked and upset that the city has approved a duplex next door to their three-story Victorian home that they say will tower metres above their chimney and rend...
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Reposted by Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate)
Max Fawcett @maxfawcett.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Donald Trump's "deal" with Belarus on potash was an obvious (and empty) bluff. And yet, Pierre Poilievre's MPs were more than willing to believe it -- and blame the federal government and a non-existent carbon tax instead. #cdnpoli www.nationalobserver.com/2026/09/23/o...
nationalobserver.com
Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives can’t wait to buy Trump’s bullshit
Donald Trump's latest economic threat involves replacing Canada's potash with imports from Belarus. The official opposition decided to blame ... the carbon tax?
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Reposted by Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate)
The Biking Lawyer LLP @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Bike lane removals near Islington on Bloor are imminent. Keep up the vigilance. Keep up the direct action. #StrengthinNumbers #CriticalMass @cycletoronto.bsky.social @jnyyz.bsky.social @lanrickbennett.bsky.social @tomflood.bsky.social
cyclists on bridge in huge crowd protesting
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Reposted by Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate)
Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
People saying that the province removing speed cameras is just a sign that we should be doing more road safety measures like pedestrian bumpouts and modal filters are technically correct. But also presumably the response of someone who has never tried to get the City to do any of these things.
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John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
We let national immigration policy be thwarted by the median council votes in Toronto and Vancouver and it's nuts to me that's not how this is understood.
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Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
How many times am I allowed to repost something?
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Jacob Loo Dawang @jacobdawang.com · 22/09/2026
With respect, if this is the extent of housing supply policies, Toronto council is so cooked. It's like a throwback to the 2010s where the same ignorance of supply created the housing crisis. Toronto needs a new plan for the future and it has to include, but be more than affordable housing.
More affordable housing, built faster and community-owned.

    Expand resources to community land trusts, non-profit and supportive housing, and require real affordability in new development on public land.
    Prioritize all Ward 11 development applications that include affordable housing.
    Use available funding and financial incentives as a means for achieving policy objectives, including family-size units, in addition to affordability.
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Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A number of good ideas but I want councillors to admit that the Official Plan plays a big role here. Too many councillors are content to pretend our development patterns are a law of nature. No. They are a result of not being able to build apartments in half the city. Let's redo the plan.
Educate renters and ensure compliance to Rental Renovation License Bylaw.
Secure fair compensation for rental replacement.
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Reposted by Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate)
Michael Wiebe @michaelwiebe.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Vancouver has a housing shortage because it prioritized maintaining its single-family neighborhood character. blog.michaelwiebe.com/p/how-vancou...
blog.michaelwiebe.com
How Vancouver planned a housing shortage
The city put neighbourhood character first and housing supply second
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Grow Together Edmonton @growtogetheryeg.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Rowhomes for young families in the places they want to live - that's what Edmonton's infill policy is delivering. #yeg #yegcc #yimby
Infill rowhome in hazeldean. A kid plays in the grass while a parent sits on the steps.
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Peter Waldkirch 華彼德 @pwaldkirch.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Ken Sim & ABC released their platform...and they say NOTHING at all about housing. It's a great example of how local government has squandered this opportunity to take action on our housing shortage. This sort of inaction is just setting the stage for next jump in prices & rent.
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Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate) @housingforce.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Daniel Smith looking for the person who inflicted indignities on Albertans.
Daniel Smith is actually the person responsible for indignities suffered by Albertans but she won’t accept responsibility for her poor governance of the province.  Therefore she blames the Federal government for her own failures.
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Reposted by Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate)
Kevin Wilson @kwilsonhfx.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
"Can accept immigration" is going to be an economic super power for countries to have in the middle to late 21st century. I mean, it always has been, but even more so.
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Peter Waldkirch 華彼德 @pwaldkirch.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The defeat of Vancouver’s Villages Plan is a major setback for addressing our housing crisis and appears to mark the end of the Vancouver Plan, which has been the main focus of our planning department since 2018. Read more in my first piece for Sightline!
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Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate) @housingforce.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I was led to believe that the only reason rent is expensive is because landlords are greedy. So, Edmonton landlords must just be built different.
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Reposted by Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate)
Jacob Loo Dawang @jacobdawang.com · 18/09/2026
Part of the story is not just the outcome of lowest rent among major Canadian cities, but also the how and where. Through zoning reform, we're adding more homes in central mature neighbourhoods, near transit.
"Stacked area chart showing H1 building permits issued in Edmonton from 2009 to 2026, broken down by four neighborhood types (Downtown, Mature, Between Mature and Henday, and Outside Henday) and seven project types (Single detached, Addition/Conversion, Backyard House, Duplex to Fourplex, Fiveplex to Eightplex, 9+ Row House, and 9+ Apartment). Downtown shows minimal permits throughout the period. Mature neighborhoods peak at over 3,000 permits in 2024, dominated by single-detached homes. Between Mature and Henday and Outside Henday neighborhoods show more volatile trends, with Outside Henday reaching nearly 4,000 permits in 2023. Single-detached homes (dark purple) comprise the largest share across most neighborhoods and years, while apartment and row house projects (orange tones) remain a smaller but consistent portion."
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Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate) @housingforce.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Whenever there is confusion between two groups, I find the best way to clear things up is to unpack definitions. Have everyone state clearly their definitions of words being used to make sure both sides have the same definition for that word. Like the word “mandate” for example. Random thought
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Reposted by Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate)
Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
"But some new polling data suggests what most riders really want is something else entirely: better service." 52% of Toronto residents said more frequent and reliable service would get them to use the TTC more, vs 19% worried about personal safety or 9% who said lower fares would bring them back.
thestar.com
Matt Elliott: Why are Olivia Chow and Brad Bradford ignoring what Toronto TTC riders actually want?
A Liaison Strategies poll of 1,000 Toronto residents reveals 52 per cent want better TTC service, not just fare freezes or more police.
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Oh The Urbanity! @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
“Where are the protests against Ontario’s attacks on Toronto cycling?” Right there!
youtube.com
Cyclists rally against downtown bike lane removal
YouTube video by CityNews
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The Local Magazine @thelocal.to · 11/09/2026
When she was fifteen, Diana Chan McNally was homeless. Today, the frontline worker and activist is running for city council in Parkdale–High Park. New from @emmapaling.bsky.social: thelocal.to/diana-chan-m...
thelocal.to
Toronto’s Most Well-Known Defender of Homeless Encampments Runs for Council | The Local
As a teenager, Diana Chan McNally was briefly homeless. She’s since worked in drop-in centres and become a prominent advocate for homeless people. In the race for Parkdale-High Park, she’s going to ne...
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Max Fawcett @maxfawcett.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Danielle Smith’s refusal to entertain an export tax on oil betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of Trumpism, oil markets, and the leverage Canada has right now. If she wants to fight for Canada, she can stop tying our strongest hand behind our back. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/09/11/o...
nationalobserver.com
Danielle Smith still doesn't get it
Alberta's premier might be the most Trump-friendly politician in Canada, but she still hasn't figured out what makes him tick — or why he's a far bigger threat to her province's oil and gas industry t...
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Doug Ford knew that banning speed cameras in Ontario would cost lives. He did it anyway. He also knows that banning and removing protected bike-lanes in Ontario will cost lives. He did it anyway. Every resulting life stupidly cut short is on him.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I just continuously want to emphasize how underrated Edmonton is on housing. They are growing way faster than the three largest cities, so very high demand, but they build enough to keep rents down. See chart of two bedroom rents across the country www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quo... 
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Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate) @housingforce.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
“You think removing barriers to building housing is effective? That pales in comparison to my strategy of forming a public builder, and then building zero housing “ Gord Perks
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Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
“We have built at least 10,000 units that nobody ever lived in, and somebody profited off.” This is not a student; it is Gord Perks, outgoing city councillor and until recently the head of Toronto’s planning and housing committee. music.youtube.com/watch?v=g2TZ...
music.youtube.com
Gord Perks is worried about the future of Toronto Politics
YouTube video by Toronto the Politics the Show
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Dr. Adil Shamji 🇨🇦 @shamjiadil.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Four years, four housing targets, four failures, by @fordnation. The numbers are so bad he’s even stopped updating his housing tracker. We can only rely on FOIs like this one to capture the full scale of his incompetence - so naturally he’s trying to slow those down as well.
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Rhi Faux @rhifaux.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
This is my neighbourhood & this reporting is lousy - as are the people leading these efforts. The traffic calming here was well-advertised, involved extensive consultation, and does not barricade anyone in their own neighbourhood. It has made the area much safer for people walking and rolling. 1/
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Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I agree with all of this but, because I think Councillor Perks would tout the public builder as his measure of success, I want to note that the number of homes built under this framework as of the last CreateTO update is 0. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
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Peter Waldkirch 華彼德 @pwaldkirch.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I'm disappointed that Azaroff has withdrawn from the mayoral race. Pete Fry has offered nothing beyond some name recognition and a vague claim to being "progressive". But here's a fact: he's voted against more social and below-market homes than Ken Sim. He has a lot of work to do to earn my vote.
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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
It's a miracle we got anything through Planning and Housing Committee this past term. Perks holds the most ridiculous caricatures of YIMBY ideas. I'm a bit aghast. I spent however hours trying to show him the regressiveness in our zoning and he wasn't listening. music.youtube.com/watch?v=g2TZ...
music.youtube.com
Gord Perks is worried about the future of Toronto Politics
YouTube video by Toronto the Politics the Show
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Kevin Wilson @kwilsonhfx.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The logic behind Gentle Density as a strategy is to allow smaller jumps in density that existing residents won't object to. But it doesn't work. The threshold for activating NIMBYs is "literally and change" You have to have a system that's numb to them.
A three panel image showing the existing streets cape, and animated version with backyard apartments added, and the images of each if the homes with the new units A social media post decaying development of backyard units in an existing neighbourhood.
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TTCriders @ttcriders.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Just as the school year begins, GO Train service is being cut. One fully-loaded GO Train can take up to 2,000 cars off the road. Doug Ford is allowing train service cuts while throwing money at new highways & bike lane removals, worsening traffic congestion. Details + how to take action!⬇️
graphic with a GO train and Doug Ford's faint face in the sky in the background.

text reads:

Metrolinx is cutting GO Train service under Doug Ford's watch. See the cuts and learn how to take action to stop thema map showing the highlighted lines where GO cuts are happening, and details:

Barrie Line:
73% cut to weekend trains, reduced evening/night trains
Stouffville Line:
73% cut to weekend trains, reduced evening/night trains
Lakeshore West Line:
Weekend wait times doubled, most train service to Niagara eliminated
Lakeshore East Line:
Weekend wait times doubled
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William Azaroff @wazaroff.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
A year ago we started a contested nomination campaign that centered a plan to build a pro-growth, pro-housing, *pro-worker* politics & today we’re making good on that promise. If you support our work, support OneCity today. 10/10
onecityvancouver.ca
Support William Azaroff for Mayor of Vancouver
Building a Vancouver for Everyone
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Fill out this SURVEY and TELL VANCOUVER CITY HALL you support the PEDESTRIANIZED GRANVILLE STREET!
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Housing Affordability Task Force (Advocate) @housingforce.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
What if DoFo rips out all the bike lanes, reduces GO train service and massively expands the highway networks to increase passenger car usage? How will that impact the climate projections?
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