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CHFT's AGM - Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Everyone is welcome at CHFT’s AGM— members, family and friends. It’s a chance to catch up on what CHFT has been doing so far this year and to meet other co-op members. Click here for the meeting flyer
CHFT Board members past and present at last year's Annual General Meeting
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Ontario Votes on June 7th
June 7 is election day in Ontario and co-op members want to make affordable housing a key
election issue. To help make this happen, CHF Canada Ontario Region launched their election website www.votecoophousing.ca last week.
On the website members will be able to
- find resources to download
- learn about co-op housing issues
- join the campaign to email your riding candidates about the issues
- find events to attend.
Click here to find out about an upcoming Meet the Candidate event
For more information contact, Jacob Larocque-Graham, Co-ordinator, Government Relations Ontario Region JLarocque-Graham@chfcanada.coop.
For information on voting when you are away from home, please click here.
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Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada - Briefing Note
Briefing Note – Federal Community Housing Initiative
Background
The co-op housing sector has been advocating for a solution to continue assistance to low-income households living in co-ops in the post-operating agreement era. Without a solution, 20,000 low-income households across Canada would find themselves without a place to live.
The National Housing Strategy provides a solution for that crisis through the Federal Community Housing Initiative (FCHI). The FCHI is designed to provide continuing support to low-income households living in federally-administered community housing, including co-ops in Ontario.
Federal Community Housing Initiative (FCHI)
Worth a total of $500 million, the FCHI is designed to provide support to low-income co-op households through to 2028. The FCHI will be deployed in two phases:
Phase I
Phase I of the FCHI will extend the end date of federally-administered operating agreements from 2018 to 2020. Co-ops whose operating agreements were extended from 2016 to 2018 are also eligible for Phase I of the FCHI. Co-ops will receive the same amount of subsidy for their low-income households in the extension as they were receiving prior to the extension. Additionally, co-ops will still need to submit their Annual Reports to the Agency for Co-operative Housing, as they did prior to the extension.
Eligible co-ops began receiving extension agreements by mail from CMHC in early April. In the months prior to this, CHF Canada worked with CMHC to ensure that the agreements were clear in their requirements and that the autonomy of co-ops was respected through Phase I.
Phase II
Phase II of the FCHI is set to begin in April 2020 and last through to 2028. CHF Canada is currently in constant dialogue with the Minister’s office and CMHC to ensure that Phase II works for co-ops, assisting low-income households, while respecting the autonomy of co-ops.
Co-ops with Operating Agreements that expired before April 2016
CHF Canada is still advocating to the federal government on behalf of co-ops that exited their operating agreements before April 1, 2016. CHF Canada’s proposal is to re-enroll those co-ops into a rent supplement program so that they can offer support to low-income households in deep need. The buildings are already paid for and the communities are robust: this is a quick, cost-efficient solution to house families in need.
Contact:
Douglas Wong
Program Manager, Policy and Government Relations
Tel: 613-230-2201, ext. 245
dwong@chfcanada.coop
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Co-op Cost Cutters 
Co-op Focus article May 2018
Co-op Cost Cutters has been harnessing co-op buying power for 20 years!
In its 20th year of operation, Co-op Cost Cutters has grown from 5 services in 1998 to nearly 20 in 2018. It is the largest buying program for co-ops in Canada.
It is a valuable service that saves time and money for our members. All the services have been researched, checked and negotiated on your behalf. Because all the companies have been vetted, they are safe to use.
Although the program is competitive, it does not always provide the lowest price. We all know that cheapest is not always the best. As co-ordinator of the program, I will never compromise quality for the sake of price. Quality and customer support (especially after the sale) are the backbone of the program.
In addition, your co-op can count on my support when using any Cost Cutters supplier. There is no such thing as a perfect service. So having someone in your corner, who advocates for you and your co-op, it is reassuring. It also saves time and money.
The newest service to the program is City Reporter (by Noratek) a unit inspection software. It has been tested in our sector and given thumbs up by staff. Noratek, a Canadian company, created custom an inspection template just for us, based on staff feedback. It is easy to use and adaptable. A number of co-ops have already purchased the software.
Noratek and other Cost Cutters suppliers will be at the national conference in Victoria, so be sure to visit them if you are going. Ricoh will be the official photocopier supplier of the AGM for the 15th year in a row!
There will be buttons that say ‘I am a Co-op Cost Cutter’ at the Cost Cutters table in Victoria. Please pick one up and proudly pin it on to celebrate 20 years of savings.
My goal with Cost Cutters is to make sure that you and your co-op are well supported when using the program. You have made the program stick. And it is my ongoing responsibility to make sure the program works for you. Let’s make Co-op Cost Cutters the standard group of services used in every co-op!
Miriam Wohl, Co-op Cost Cutters Co-ordinator
miriam@coophousing.com
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CHFT Annual General Meeting
Wednesday, May 23, 2018, 7:00 p.m.
Oakham House
55 Gould Street, Toronto click here for map
CHFT Diversity Scholarship Event
Wednesday, June 27, 2018, 7:00 p.m.
St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts
27 Front Street East, Toronto click here for map
For more information please contact Angela Calderone, angela@coophousing.com or 416 465-8688 extension 206.
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