CHF Canada Annual Report 2019

A strong voice for co-op housing

In 2019, CHF Canada supported members in the design and enrollment of renewed rental assistance under the Federal Community Housing Initiative Phase 2 (FCHI-2).

CHMC and the Federal Government listened to our ‘You Hold the Key’ campaign to continue rental assistance for low-income households in federally administered co-ops until 2028.

Stable rent assistance programs are important to the everyday lives of vulnerable households, and are key to the health of the whole co-op housing community. We will continue to communicate this to the federal government, so our members’ interests remain central to this new funding program. The program will begin September 2020. Please find more information here.

Co-ops in Saskatchewan have been strong advocates for their communities, by calling for extended rental assistance programs. Members held meetings with officials, tabled a petition in the Legislature, and hosted a rally, calling on the government to maintain rental assistance for low-income households.

Members like single parent of three, Tonya O’Keefe, helped lead the protests against these cuts and rallied with other neighbours in Saskatoon. 

As we explore the best ways to increase Canada’s stock of co-operative housing, it is clear that our task is made easier through partnerships.

By sharing risks and rewards of new projects, we can achieve our co-op development goals while helping create a wider spectrum of community housing, including affordable home ownership and non-profit rental.

Here are a few of the many opportunities CHF Canada explored and supported in 2019:

1) CHF Canada is on the steering committee of the Ottawa Community Land Trust, together with CHASEO, Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corp, Ottawa Social Housing Network, Gignul Non-Profit Housing and others.

2) CHF Canada worked with a number of regional federations to begin identifying local development opportunities.

3) CHF Canada has supported several partner proposals to the new Community Housing Transformation Centre to fund a range of development initiatives.

4) CHF Canada worked alongside Toronto’s Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust, the formation of the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts, representing more than 20 existing and emerging land trusts across Canada.

Serving housing co-ops is what we’re all about. In 2019, as always, we provided members with the first-rate education, resources, advice and tailored services they need to thrive. 

And we continued to seek ways to improve and expand services as opportunities and technologies change. Possibly the most interesting new initiative was the launch in December 2019 of a new CHF Canada-led partnership called the Community Housing Transformation Centre which, with $68.6 million in federal funding from the National Housing Strategy, will be a new source of funds, resources and ideas to help housing co-ops and non-profits remain strong and growing.

CHF Canada’s Education Program produced our always popular and well-attended events as well as custom workshops, online courses and resources. 

These tools, which included items such as ‘Where To Turn: Dealing with opioids in your area’ supported members with important information on new community challenges, as well as good member service, sound management, financial planning, legislation and more.

We know circumstances differ for housing co-ops in different parts of the country.

Rules and regulations differ and some areas have no regional federation to turn to. In 2019, CHF Canada continued to provide services to co-ops in every province and territory.

Our dedicated staff team is available to help members with questions and advice on co-op legislation, by-laws, support with difficult meetings, liaising with regulators and third parties, and much more.

In Ontario,

• We hosted our annual Co-op Housing Day at Queen’s Park and had a record breaking turnout of MPP’s.

• We presented our Ontario 2020 Pre budget submission to the Queen’s Park Finance Committee and sent it to all MPPs in Ontario.

• We worked closely with our local federations and members to build co-op supporters in the provincial government.

• The province introduced the Community Housing Renewal Strategy which CHF Canada has long called for.

• We continue to lobby to protect the long-term viability of existing provincial housing providers as their mortgages come to an end.

• We successfully advocated for simplified rent geared to income (RGI) for Ontario provincial housing co-ops. 

In the Prairies,

We advocated for co-op housing during provincial elections in Alberta and Manitoba, and we supported Saskatchewan co-ops as they rallied on the steps of the legislature to protect provincially-administered rental assistance. We hosted spring and fall education events in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and we attended the Goldeye Conference to connect with Alberta members and federations.

In the Atlantic Region,

Over 100 co-op members from four provinces convened in the spring of 2019 for the first Atlantic Summit, featuring a dynamic assortment of workshops and plenaries. In 2019, Compass Nova Scotia saved 58 units of co-operative housing, and won bid for land through the Federal Lands Initiative that will add 51 new units of co-op housing in the Halifax Regional municipality.

Throughout 2019, CHF Canada worked with consultant Jackie Hogue on a plan for how we can support the journey towards reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and settlers in Canada.

In 2020, CHF Canada will be releasing a reconciliation toolkit for our members as a result of this work.

Some CHF Canada staff also took part in a reading group to read and discuss the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG).

We’re grateful to everyone who took time to participate in our member survey and our annual meeting survey and focus groups.

We rely on our members to let us know what is most important to you and how CHF Canada can help. And we’re listening.

What we heard in these surveys is letting us know which services are most important to you, and how we can improve to serve you better.

Our annual meeting consultations revealed that members want a shorter format, better value with more events and meals included, and to make sure we still have lots of opportunities for you to learn and network.

We are making that happen as we plan future meetings in 2021 and 2022.

In 2019, we welcomed six housing co-ops, two co-ops in development, five associates, and four individuals as new CHF Canada members, bringing us to a total of 903 housing co-ops, 106 associates and 34 individual members.

13 co-ops celebrated 20 years of membership, 43 members received a 30-year loyalty award, and 13 members had been with us for 40 years!

We love featuring member co-ops, and the wonderful members of our members, through profiles on our website. And we especially enjoy sharing the stories of young members. Get in touch at info@chfcanada.coop if you know a story we should share!

Throughout 2019, CHF Canada made weekly posts showcasing some of the amazing housing co-ops across the country.

You can see all of the #CoopTour posts on a Google map, in this Facebook album, or in this Twitter thread.

CHF Canada is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Give us a follow!

In June, over 650 co-op members and supporters took part in CHF Canada’s 2019 Annual Meeting, in London, ON.

Members passed resolutions beginning the process of reorganizing CHF Canada’s Board of Directors and Ontario Council into a single governance body. Our business meetings also used electronic voting for the first time.

Kaslo Gardens Housing Co-op in Vancouver received this year’s Award for Co-operative Achievement for their work on reconciliation.

Members of the co-op worked with the Aboriginal Life in Vancouver Enhancement Society and other co-ops in BC to understand  how co-ops can best support the 94 calls to action of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Nick Sidor, who retired from CHF Canada in 2018, was recognized as an Honourary Lifetime Associate to recognize his long career and important advocacy work for housing co-ops. His dedication to Canada’s housing co-ops has touched on some of CHF Canada’s most significant achievements over the past 20 years, from advocacy victories on prepayment penalties and the You Hold the Key campaign to the establishment of CHF Canada’s financial planning services.

CHF Canada’s Management Scholarships helped three co-op staff and members improve their skills in property and financial management. 

Our Diversity Grants supported projects ranging from translation software to a guide for including 2SLGBTQ+ members.

Our Diversity Scholarships recognize and support emerging leaders of the co-op housing movement in their pursuit of post-secondary education. Since its inception, over 460 scholarships have been awarded.  In 2019, over $170,000 was awarded to successful young member recipients.

“Thanks to CHF Canada’s generosity I am currently able to upgrade my skill set in the affordable housing sector and get certified in the job I currently do. These certification credentials lead to opportunities for promotion and growth within my own company and the affordable housing sector at large.”

Jeannine O’Hara, La Petite Maison Housing Co-op member and Management Scholarship recipient

In 2019, we distributed a total of $51,217 to 21 co-ops to help them make sustainability upgrades that resulted in huge cost and energy savings.

This was a big increase from 2018, when we gave $33,136 to nine co-ops!

CHF Canada benefits from a dedicated group of staff serving members from offices across Canada.

New: Courtney Lockhart, Dillon Waldron. (In 2020) Owen Carnahan, Sophie Cooper, Rajathi Ratnasiri   

Departing: Deniz Bilgen, Emily Doyle, Derek Pokora, Rebecca Richardson, David Spackman