Christine Crawford, 64, who suffers from chronic illness, works in her sewing studio which she converted from a dinning room in Ottawa on Thursday, December 12, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
December 14, 2013 - 4:00 AM
OTTAWA - Thousands of Canadians living in social housing projects are facing an uncertain future this Christmas.
They're hoping the federal government heeds calls to work with provinces and territories to maintain social housing funding. Until then, they're facing the terrifying prospect of suddenly becoming homeless.
Nearly 200,000 low-income Canadian households in co-op and non-profit housing projects depend on federal rent-geared-to-income housing assistance to pay their rent.
Social housing advocates fear much of Canada's existing co-op housing could vanish if the current federal funding level of $1.7 billion a year dries up as operating agreements between the government and the housing complexes expire in the years to come.
Conservative MP Brad Butt, a social housing advocate, says Tories aren't cutting funding to affordable housing projects.
He says the mortgages on many social-housing properties are now paid off, so the government has fulfilled its commitment and most housing complexes should be in good financial shape.
Butt says if they're at risk, the government will look at helping.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013