Ward 5 incumbent Robert Kirwan applauds the decision by city council, at its final meeting prior to the Oct. 22 election, to take over control of the Greater Sudbury Housing Corporation (GSHC).
He explained why he thought the move would be a good idea in a column back on Sept. 13. You can read that here.
In his latest release on the topic, Kirwan reiterates why he thinks the move is good for tenants, the GSHC and the city.
“It became increasingly obvious to me that if the city took over the responsibility for operating the GSHC under a separate department in-house then we would have access to many more resources and synergies which could greatly enhance the quality of life of our tenants and help us address the infrastructure deficit that we are facing with our portfolio of housing units,” he said. “I expect that there will be a significant financial investment in the housing stock over the next couple of years to upgrade and renovate some of the aging units.”
The full text of Kirwan’s release appears below.
On September 25, 2018, during the final meeting of city council prior to the municipal election, city council approved a recommendation from the general manager of Community Development that the Greater Sudbury Housing Corporation undergo a major transition that will now have the city assuming full responsibility for the administration and operations of the 1,848 social housing units owned by the GSHC. The GSHC will continue to retain ownership of the assets under a shell corporation with members of the city council being appointed as the board of directors. The changes were to take place effective September 26, 2018.
Under this new governance structure, the former GSHC CEO will now report to the general manager of Community Development rather than a board of directors. This is a critical change that will have some profound positive impacts on all 4,500 social housing units that are provided in the City of Greater Sudbury, not just those under the jurisdiction of the former GSHC.
Just to review, the City of Greater Sudbury city council has been designated as a service manager under the Housing Services Act, 2011. The city is responsible for all social housing in the City of Greater Sudbury, including the co-operative and non-profit housing providers in addition to the 1,848 units that now fall as a section of the Community Services Department.
I have served as vice-chair of the board of directors for the Greater Sudbury Housing Corporation for the past four years. I supported the decision to have the city take over the Greater Sudbury Housing Corporation at this time. I found that as a board member it was getting very difficult for us to do what we felt needed to be done for our tenants because of our limited resources and the lack of independence under the terms of the Shareholder’s Agreement and Operating Framework with the service manager, namely the city.
It became increasingly obvious to me that if the city took over the responsibility for operating the GSHC under a separate department in-house then we would have access to many more resources and synergies which could greatly enhance the quality of life of our tenants and help us address the infrastructure deficit that we are facing with our portfolio of housing units. I expect that there will be a significant financial investment in the housing stock over the next couple of years to upgrade and renovate some of the aging units.
Now that the GSHC CEO is going to be taking on more or less a director’s role within the Community Development Department, I can see how the integration of other sections such as transit, long-term care, recreation and social services can be delivered much more effectively and efficiently to the segment of our population most in need of these public services. There are so many positive possibilities that can emanate from this decision. We need to implement the transition as seamlessly and as quickly as possible, which is one of the reasons why we decided to make this move on Sept. 26, 2018 instead of Jan. 1, 2019, as originally recommended.
The time was right for a change like this. We have a population health strategy that is going to guide us over the next decade through specific actions that will influence the social determinants of health which predict the health and well-being of citizens of all ages. This population health approach aims to improve the health of the entire population by acting on factors and conditions that have a strong influence on our health. By transitioning the housing portfolio of the GSHC to the direct control of the city, we will be able to facilitate actions that will deal with social inclusion, socialization, age friendly strategy, holistic health, and many more elements that will help us reduce health inequities among population groups.
I want to publicly thank the board of directors of the GSHC, as well as the CEO, the executive leadership team, and all of the employees who have worked so tirelessly and professionally to provide the best quality of life they could for the tenants of the Greater Sudbury Housing Corporation. The changes that were approved by city council will provide the city with the opportunity to further enhance the living conditions of all tenants of our social housing units throughout the city. This will be seen as transformational change of direction that will be of great benefit to the entire City of Greater Sudbury.
Learn more about Kirwan’s candidacy on his election page on Sudbury.com.
