1 October 2008
Re: Invitation to the Fall 2008 Meeting
Dear Housing Data Working Group Members:
You are cordially invited to the Fall meeting of the National Housing Research Committee’s
(NHRC’s) Housing Data Working Group which will be held this year on Tuesday, November 4th
at the Marriott Hotel, 100 Kent Street, Ottawa in the Salon Laurier. As well, the meeting has been
timed to coincide with CMHC’s Housing Awards Forum which is taking place at the same hotel
on November 3. NHRC members are welcome to participate in any or all of the Housing Award
activities as well, including the Awards dinner on Monday evening. Information on the Housing
Awards is attached to this posting.
Working Group Overview
All Working Groups will be video webcast live to reach more people with an interest in NHRC
issues. Members are asked to consider who from within their organizations or jurisdictions would
benefit from seeing a live video webcast of this Working Group and forward their e-mail
addresses to Linda Prud’homme (co-ordinates below) so that they can receive an electronic
registration notice.
The Housing Data Working Group Co-Chair Candace Fedoruk from CMHC and François Pagé
from Statistics Canada will open the meeting. The first presenter, Heather Dryburgh from
Statistics Canada will present a new database which merges responses from 20 years of the
General Social Surveys. This will be followed by Derek Jansen from EKOS Research and his
presentation on rethinking Canada’s aging population with data from a recent survey. Cathy
Underhill from Statistics Canada will then describe a new longitudinal panel-based survey. Willa
Rea, also from Statistics Canada, will then conclude the Working Group with a presentation on
changing patterns in homeownership and shelter costs.
You will notice that the round table refers to "selected members". In the interest of saving
valuable face-to-face round table time for thoughtful insights, problem-sharing and discussion,
and to avoid duplication of information at Working Group round tables, members are being asked
to report only if they have housing issues, research, or challenges related to the subject of this
Working Group. This may mean that not all members will have something to report at the round
table, and this is expected and accepted. If you do intend to report at the round table, please
advise the Co-Chairs in advance, either prior to the meeting itself or at the break.
Tour, November 4
You are also invited to take part in a bus tour of housing developments of interest to the
Committee. A housing planner with the City of Ottawa and a CHBA representative have
agreed to provide the commentary. The furthest end point of the tour will be the
EQuilibriumTM house in Manotick just outside Ottawa, built by Minto Group: Inspiration –
the Minto ecohome. A Minto representative will meet us on-site to provide us with a tour of
the house.
Reception, Wednesday November 5
You may also be interested in attending the reception at 5:00 which will include a welcoming
address to the rotating academic member Dalhousie University, and the rotating municipal
member, the City of Lethbridge, Alberta.
This National Housing Research Committee meeting should prove to be a very interesting
and informative networking opportunity for all participants. The following page includes the
overall schedule and hotel booking details. The draft agenda and the response form are
included as separate attachments. Please let us know by October 10th whether or not you
plan to attend.
I look forward to seeing you at the Fall Session of the National Housing Research
Committee. Should you have any questions, concerns, or ideas, feel free to contact me. I can
be reached at (613) 748-2446 or by e-mail at the following address: nwalker@cmhc.ca
Sincerely,
Nancy Walker
Coordinator
National Housing Research Committee and External Liaison
Attachments
Schedule for NHRC Fall 2008 Meeting
Morning
Afternoon
Tuesday,
November 4
Housing Data
8:30 – 12:00
Wednesday,
November 5
Distinct Needs
8:30 – 12:00
Thursday,
November 6
Full Committee
8:30 – 4:00
Sustainable Housing and
Communities
1:00 – 3:00
Homelessness
1:00 – 4:30
Full Committee
Housing-related tour
3:15 to 6:00
Evening
Reception
5:00 – 7:00
Hotel Rooms
A block of rooms has been set aside for NHRC members at a cost of $149 plus taxes per
night. These rooms will be held until October 14th. Reservations can be made directly
with the Marriott Hotel by calling 1-800-853-8463 and quoting the National Housing
Research Committee or booking online by quoting NHRNHRA.
Publication Display
All members are encouraged to participate in the Publication Display, which will be
available to review throughout the session. Those that are interested are invited to bring
with them or send in advance to the hotel (attention: NHRC, Salon Laurier, November 45-6) copies of your organization's recent housing research publications.
Confirm intentions with the NHRC Secretariat
Please advise the NHRC Secretariat by October 10th if you plan to attend or not the
meeting, and whether you will be joining us for lunch and the reception by filling out and
sending back the Response Form. You can send it back by e-mail or fax, or you can
phone Linda Prud’homme. Her co-ordinates are as follows: (613) 748-2515,
lprudhom@cmhc.ca, fax at (613)748-2402. Your early replies are very important to us as
we finalize the numbers on each of these activities.