Increase affordable housing stock for Syrian refugees in Canada essay

Increaseaffordable housing stock for Syrian refugees in Canada

Increaseaffordable housing stock for Syrian refugees in Canada

Generaldata about Syrian refugee in Canada

Thestate of Syrian refugees is an issue of concern in Canada. This isbecause records as of 15thMay 2016 show that Canada currently hosts the second highest numberof the refugees in the world, the highest being Germany, at 27,190people (cmhc.ca,2016).As such, there is a need for proper housing for such people. Giventhe fact that the cost of housing in the country is high, there isthe necessity for the country to come up with an affordable housingscheme that will be sustainable for the government and as well notpose any harm to the refugees. In a bid to understand the essence ofproper housing for these persons, it is important to have a view ofthe population of the refugees in different provinces in the country.Vancouver has a population of 1586 while Toronto has about 5032refugees (cic.gc.ca, 2016). The data for the refugees in theprovinces of Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Quebec, was notavailable, thereby, bringing in a gap.

Table1: Distribution of Syrian refugees in Canadian Provinces

Province

Population of refugees

Alberta

3778

British Columbia

2823

Manitoba

1025

New Brunswick

1435

Newfoundland and Labrador

225

Northwest Territories

N/A

Nova Scotia

126

Nunavut

N/A

Ontario

10336

Prince Edward Island

1240

Quebec

N/A

Saskatchewan

746

Yukon

15

Total

21749

Demographicinformation about Syrian refugees in Canada&nbsp

TheSyrian refugees who settled in Canada bear some characteristics asindicated in the following sub-topics

Everysize of family

Theapproved and pending cases for the Syrian refugees in Canada beardifferent characteristics. About 53% of the approved cases had theirfamilies being made up of 5-8 persons. 14% of the approved cases hadone person as a member of a family while 29% of the cases had 2-4people making up one family on application (numbeo.com, 2016). Thefindings are as shown in Figures 1 and 2 below. Given the fact thatthe percentage of the refugees who belong to large family units ishigher, there is a need to put the information into considerationwhile building them houses. As a result, most of the houses builtneed to be large enough to accommodate the many people who may befound in a single family. This practice will ensure that the refugeesare contained in the country in such a way that their standards ofliving are well put into consideration do resemble the normal livesof other inhabitants of the country.

Figure1: Family size (Refugees sponsored by the Government on application)&nbsp

Source: cic.gc.ca (2016) as of May 15, 2016

Figure2: Family Size (Non-government Sponsored Refugees, on application)

Source: cic.gc.ca (2016) as of May 15, 2016

Age

Statisticsindicate that at the time of application, about 56% of the refugeeswere 14 years old or younger. This sends a strong message that morethan half of the refugees who settle in the country are children andthey, therefore, do require the amount of support necessary throughthe creation of facilities to accommodate them, such as housing(http://cmhc.ca/en/index.cfm).The age group distribution of the Syrian refugees in Canada is shownin Table 1 below.

Table2: The Syrian Refugees in Canada in Age groups

Age

Government-sponsored refugees

Non- Government-sponsored refugees

Cases Approved (6975)

Cases in progress (14,067)

Cases Approved (7656)

Cases in progress (4712)

0-14 years

55%

56%

27%

31%

15-24 years

11%

11%

16%

14%

25-44 years

28%

27%

33%

33%

45-64 years

5%

5%

19%

18%

65 and above

1%

1%

5%

4%

Source: cic.gc.ca (2016) as of May 15, 2016

Buildingcost in each province&nbsp

Forthe sake of comparison, the building costs in different provinces ofCanada will take into consideration the construction of a 3-bedroomapartment.

Table3: Building costs in Canadian Provinces

Province

Building costs (in Canadian $)

Alberta

181,000

British Columbia

156,000

Manitoba

173,000

New Brunswick

192,000

Newfoundland and Labrador

201,000

Northwest Territories

190,000

Nova Scotia

161,000

Nunavut

186000

Ontario

195,000

Prince Edward Island

184,000

Quebec

177,000

Saskatchewan

175,000

Yukon

193,000

Source:https://www03.cmhcschl.gc.ca/catalog/product

Numberof budgets for housing of refugees

Threebudgets need to be doing the housing project. This will include theapartment construction budget, the rental budget as well as theadministration budget.&nbspRentalinformation for Toronto&nbsp

Therental breakdown for apartments in Toronto is as shown in the tablebelow.

Table4: Rental information for Toronto

Rent Per Month (Apartments)

Average

1 bedroom (in the City Centre)

1,140.08&nbspC$

1 bedroom (Outside the Centre)

894.79&nbspC$

3 bedrooms ( in the City Centre)

1,883.78&nbspC$

3 bedrooms (Outside the Centre)

1,447.79&nbspC$

Source:www.numbeo.com

Concentrationof refugees in Canada

Themap below shows the concentration of Syrian refugees in differentparts of Canada.

Figure3: Concentration of refugees in Canada

Source:http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/privately-sponsored-refugee-map-1.3346250

Problemtree for Syrian refugees

TheSyrian refugees in Canada face a number of problems as indicated inthe problem tree below

Figure3: Problem tree for Syrian refugees in Canada

Source:http://globalnews.ca/news

Projectmanagement&nbsp

Theproject will involve the provision of rental housing services for 200Syrian refugee families as well as building houses for other 200refugee families. The rental housing will cost an excess of$8,064,000.00 while the construction cost of houses for 200 familieswill cost about $39,000,000.00. There will be an additional cost of$1,000,000.00 $1,000,000.00 which will cater for the administrationservices of the program. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporationwill take over them management of the activities owing to the immenseexperience, expertise, and logistical capability that the entity has.The various consultants who will be engaged will be crucial for theprovision of the information on the elements and amenities that needto be included in the housing scheme for the refugees. Thecontractors who will be brought on board will play a huge role in theconstruction of the apartments for the refugees and carry outrenovations on the apartments that are meant to provide rentalservices to the other 200 families. The Federal government of Canadawill take charge o the financial management of the project. Thegovernment shall also source additional funding from UNHCR, UNICEF,and other voluntary, non-governmental bodies. The applicant for thehousing project shall be accountable to Citizenship and ImmigrationCanada (CIC) which shall ensure that they adhere to the standardsrequired of them, to reside in Canada(http://www.theglobeandmail.com, 2016). The applicant shall besubmitting annual reports to the body indicating any new developmentssuch as an increase in the family size. The expected reportingfrequencies are that there will be a continual increase in the numberof Syrian refugees in Canada in the coming years.&nbsp

References

cbc.ca/news (2016). Canada/privately-sponsored-refugee-map-1.3346250http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/privately-sponsored-refugee-map-1.3346250

cic.gc.ca(2016). http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/welcome/

cmhc.ca(2016). http://cmhc.ca/en/index.cfm

cmhc.ca/en/hoficlincl(2016). http://cmhc.ca/en/hoficlincl/homain/index.cfm

cmhcschl.gc.ca(2016).https://www03.cmhcschl.gc.ca/catalog/productDetail.cfm?lang=en&ampcat=192&ampitm=1&ampfr=1464840488187

globalnews.com(2016). Challengesfaced by Syrian-refugees-arriving in Canada/http://globalnews.ca/news/2395085/5-challenges-faced-by-syrian-refugees-arriving-in-canada/

numbeo.com(2016). cost-of-living/country/Canadahttp://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Canada

theglobeandmail.com(2016).http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-to-process-10000-syrian-refugees-as-fast-as-possible/article29502636/