On March 8, 2011, Bill 140, Strong Communities Through Affordable Housing Act, carried at Second Reading and was ordered referred to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy.

Bill 140 would, if passed, repeal the Social Housing Reform Act, 2000 and enact the Housing Services Act, 2010. The legislation relates to the provision of housing and homelessness services under provincial oversight. Among other measures, the proposed legislation:

• sets out defined matters of “provincial interest” relating to housing and homelessness services and provides for Ministerial policy statements on such matters;
• requires prescribed housing and homelessness plans to address the matters of provincial interest and be consistent with the Ministerial policy statements;
• provides for the designation of “service managers” (i.e. a municipality or a district social services administration board) and their service areas by regulation;
• sets out the general powers and duties of service managers, including reporting to the Minister and public; and
• sets out the rules governing the operation of defined “local housing corporations”.

Bill 140 also defines and addresses the operation of both “rent-geared-to-income assistance” and “special needs housing”, including minimum prescribed service levels.

With respect to rent-geared-to-income assistance, Bill 140 provides for the recovery of assistance for which a household was not entitled, as well as the designation of eligibility review officers and family support workers.

In addition, Bill 140 provides general rules for transferred housing programs and projects; outlines the duties of a service manager with respect to designated housing projects; and provides for records, audits or investigations and notices to the Minister if certain designated housing projects are in difficulty.

With respect to enforcement, Bill 140 permits the appointment a person to conduct an audit or investigation of a housing provider, as well as prescribed “triggering events” including:

• contravention of the Act or its regulations;
• bankruptcy or insolvency of the housing provider;
• the cessation or threatened cessation to carry on business in the normal course;
• the incursion of an expenditure that is substantial and excessive, having regard to the normal practices of similar housing providers;
• the incursion of a deficit or accumulated deficit if the deficit or accumulated deficit is substantial and excessive, having regard to the normal practices of similar housing providers; or
• failure to operate a designated housing project properly, having regard to the normal practices of similar housing providers.

Bill 140 was introduced at First Reading on November 29, 2010.