Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Featuring:

• Betsy Agar, Interim Buildings Program Director, Pembina Institute
• Paul Kershaw, Founder, Gen Squeeze
• Morag Carter, Executive Director, The Skills Centre

Like many cities around the world, Canadian communities are facing a tough housing crisis. Affordability, availability and safety are among the biggest challenges affecting access to quality housing today. These factors are compounded by a growing climate emergency and people on the ground are mobilizing to find responses that tackle both crises in holistic ways.

Having established the importance of the right to housing, housing associations are leading by example and are at the forefront of the fight. But the sector is facing a huge challenge: how to ensure everyone in Canada is housed and equipped to face upcoming climate-related challenges?

As research shows, it is not just an increase in natural disasters such as floods and mudslides that affects homes today–climate change is impacting the volatility of housing prices by leading to higher mortgage default rates and a host of other concerns that increases the need to relocate for many.

Safe, adequate and affordable housing is not only essential to tackling the climate emergency, but a crucial requirement to ensuring a brighter future for people in Canada and abroad.  

This Tamarack Institute webinar built off of their article, The Intersection of Housing Affordability and Climate Action, and dove into themes such as:

• Inflation, affordability and related challenges 
• Housing shortages and community-led solutions
• How might we support community leaders and push elected representatives to inspire positive action
• The potential of climate action plans to address homelessness
• What the future holds for sustainable and affordable housing in Canada