Toronto mayoral candidate John Tory takes part in a debate organized by FilmOntario on Sept. 3, 2014.FRED LUM/The Globe and Mail
John Tory is adding housing to a campaign that has focused on transit, promising to revamp the city's troubled housing corporation and kick start investment in its massive repair backlog.
Mr. Tory is expected to make the announcement Friday morning, joined by Liberal Senator and former Toronto Mayor Art Eggleton.
The housing plan calls for the formation of a taskforce of councillors, tenants and housing experts that will consider a restructuring of Toronto Community Housing and report back by next summer.
The public housing corporation, the largest public housing landlord in North America, has been plagued by spending scandals, and most recently by questionable personnel practices outlined in a damning investigation by the city's ombudsman that led to the departure of its chief executive and other senior staff.
Mr. Tory's plan also calls for the city to move quickly to invest its one-third share of the money needed to address the repair backlog and to ensure more city-owned land is used for affordable housing. The average age of the city agency's housing stock is 42 years and TCHC estimates it will need to do more than $2.6-billion in capital repairs over the next decade.
The agency is taking measures to address the backlog, with its board approving a budget Thursday that includes $175-million for capital investments next year, according to a TCHC statement released Thursday. That is up from a repair budget of $128-million this year, the agency said.
At the Friday announcement Mr. Tory also is expected to announce plans to step up the city's tower renewal program for private properties and encourage infill housing as part of that, expand the city's rent supplement program, join the movement for a 10-year plan to end homelessness and create a standing committee on housing and homelessness at the city.
Rival candidate for mayor Olivia Chow release in July her plan to address the city's shortage of affordable housing, which offers private landlords a break on development fees and a fast-track through the planning approvals in return for including affordable units in new apartment towers.
Ms. Chow is proposing that builders who earmark as much as 20 per cent of units in new developments for affordable rents would have development fees deferred for a decade.