Quinte West councillors heard a presentation from the Eastern Ontario Warden’s Caucus about their “7 in 7” housing initiative during their Wednesday council meeting.
During the presentation by EOWC Manager of Government Relations and Policy Meredith Stavele-Watson, EOWC Vice-Chair Bonnie Clark and Hastings County Chief Administrative Officer, details of the “7 in 7” plan were laid out.
The “7 in 7” plan aims to address housing shortfalls in communities across eastern Ontario by constructing at least 7000 affordable rental units over the next seven years, along with up to 21,000 market rate units, for a potential total of 28,000 units.
Eastern Ontario Warden’s Caucus Vice-Chair Bonnie Clark said during the presentation that to accomplish their goal they would need support from all levels of government.
“We are in desperate need of this right across our municipalities,” said Clark. “Each of our jurisdictions has been doing our best over the last number of years. But to tackle this supply challenge, we need everyone at the table.”
The entire project is estimated to cost a total of $3.1 billion.
The EOWC is still looking for support for the project, and is preparing a pilot project to launch as an example and proof of concept to attract provincial and federal funding.
Councillor Sally Freeman was supportive of the project, noting that evictions in the area were adding to the issue of housing shortfalls, and leaving even more people struggling to find a home.
“There are hundreds of people going to be out of a home, their home, their apartments, they’ve been in some as long as 30 years. They’ve been, they’re feeling safe and secure and they no longer are,” said Freeman.
Quinte West isn’t the first community approached with the idea. Belleville has already shown support for the initiative.
Quinte West Council took no action after receiving the presentation
