Leaving Homelands to finding Homes: Refugee Housing Affordability in Calgary

Date
2018-09-07
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Abstract
The issue of refugee housing affordability in Calgary is one which needs attention. In the coming years, Canada is expected to increase its refugee resettlement targets to approximately 15% of its total immigration quota. This percentage is up from pre-2015 targets of approximately10%. As the total number of immigrants invited rises, this 15% will be reflected in an increased total of refugees arriving each year. Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) is the primary agency responsible resettling, finding housing, and providing support for all government sponsored refugees, and 75% of all privately sponsored refugees arriving in Calgary. Though best practices dictate that CCIS’ Housing Liaison resettle refugees according to affordability and even distribution throughout the city, sudden influxes combined with affordability issues may constrain the agency to specific areas of the city. Data provided by CCIS shows a concentration of refugees living in the far north part of Calgary, some small portions in the Southwest, and a large concentration in the Forest Lawn/Northeast part of Calgary. This study assumes that the largest motivating factor for resettlement in these areas is housing affordability, constrained largely by refugee settlement funding. A survey of refugee budgets, when compared to available mean and lower quartile rental data, mostly corroborates this assumption. A map generated by GIS software shows how the rent-to-income ratios faced by refugees incentivizes settlement and concentration in these areas. Breaking down refugee funding also provides insight into how family structure and size impacts affordability. Single refugees are likely to face housing affordability issues far more than their counterparts with children, primarily due to the lack of child benefits. Current literature and findings in this paper indicate that rent supplements buffer single refugees against the lack of child benefits, and against housing affordability issues. Refugee claimants, those seeking asylum in Canada, were at the greatest risk for homelessness in Calgary. While their case is pending they are denied all financial benefits except for basic provincial income support. With rent-to-income ratios of 90% in Calgary, this work finds that they are at extreme risk for shelter use, relative homelessness, and absolute homelessness. It is recommended that the federal government consider granting refugee claimants benefits, and that the primary mechanism for increasing refugee housing affordability should be increasing cash transfers, including the possibility of a national housing benefit, to all Canadians.
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Citation
Falconer, R. (2018). Leaving Homelands to finding Homes: Refugee Housing Affordability in Calgary (Unpublished master's project). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.