Co-op Housing: A non-profit, co-operative method to provide affordable housing. The housing is owned by the co-operative of which the tenants are members. Tenants work together to manage the property and to keep the costs down.
Core need: Assistance for housing is provided only to families considered to be in core need. To be eligible, families must meet three criteria concerning crowding, dilapidation and percentage of income spent on housing (more than 30% indicates need).
“Housing”: The expression, when used in Newfoundland, as for example “I live in housing”, refers to the public housing administered by the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation.
In-fill housing: Non-profit housing for low and moderate income earners, the rent is assessed on gross family income. The housing was built in the downtown within existing neighbourhoods on the sites of demolished houses.
Low Income Cut-off (LICO): This is a relative measure of poverty. A household is defined as low income if it spends 20 per cent more of its income on food, clothing and shelter than an average household with similar demographics. For a city the size of St. John’s, the LICO for a family of four is about $32,000 per year.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): The OEDC promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the word. It provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems.
Public Housing: Rental housing built and maintained by a government agency, now at the provincial level. In Newfoundland and Labrador, initially, rent was assessed at 20% of income, it is now 25%. The maximum family income allowable for eligibility is $32,000. Heat and electricity have been included in the rent, but when the current upgrades are completed, the residents will be responsible for these costs.
Social housing: In Canada, this term refers to all forms of publically assisted housing and included public housing, non-profit and co-op. Under a definition of publically assisted, the Churchill Park development could be considered a form of social housing.
Social Rights: The categories of rights (civil, political, economic, cultural and social) covered by the term human rights are inter-related and inter-connected. Social rights are those rights concerned with social status. Rights concerning healthcare, education, and housing are usually classified as social rights. There can be overlap in the assignment of rights to cultural, economic or social categories, as a result these categories are often considered together.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: This document was adopted by the United Nations in 1948. The thirty articles outline definitions of civil and political rights as well as economic, cultural and social rights for the individual. It is a statement of objectives, and is not legally binding.
Students exploring inequality in Canada 