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It’s time to make affordable housing an issue in the federal election campaign.

Four million people are struggling to find affordable housing in Canada today. By affordable, I’m using the Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC) standard rule of thumb of about 30 percent of income going to housing that is adequate and in suitable condition. In fact, many Canadians are paying much more than this for housing, which leaves little in the household budget for other necessities such as food and clothing.

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According toFood Banks Canada,the cost of housing is a key reason for the rise in food bank usage. Did you know that a third of those who depend on food banks are children? Despite this, one in seven children go to school hungry every day according to the Breakfast Club of Canada.

There are235,000 Canadianswho experience homelessness in the course of a year. And 1.6 million more Canadians are at risk of losing their homes according toCMHC. All this misery while study after study shows that it is cheaper for the public purse to house someone than leave them on the street, moving in and out of shelters, emergency hospital rooms and even jails in some cases.