Federal housing minister calls on Ontario to do more for social housing [Video]

Federal Housing Minister Nate Erskine-Smith is calling on the Ontario government to do more to address social housing needs in the province.

At a press conference in Ottawa to announce a new deal on housing the homeless between Ottawa and nearly a dozen municipalities in Ontario and Saskatchewan, Erskine-Smith said that while Ontario has increased its supports for the homeless, the government of Premier Doug Ford has reduced supports for community housing “by roughly the same amount.”

“We need community housing if we want a long-term solution. A shelter bed just doesn’t offer the stability we all need,” Erskine-Smith said at his first announcement since taking over the housing portfolio last month.

“As we’ve ramped up federal spending on community and social housing, the Ontario government has seen fit to reduce its own commitments in this space.”

Erskine-Smith said the province has seen spending on social housing decline by nearly …