City ends pause to housing program at centre of kickback scheme

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As the City of Ottawa lifts a pause to rent supplement programs linked to a kickback scheme, housing staff are still working to sever indirect ties with the landlords implicated in the scandal.

The supplements help low-income residents access private market housing by paying the difference between what they can afford and market rents. They're a key element of the city's housing first program.

The pause did not affect existing tenancies, but it has left a backlog of new applications that housing advocates worry will leave people homeless for longer during the coldest time of the year.

The city quietly began the pause on Dec. 16, two weeks after a scathing report from Auditor General Nathalie Gougeon, whose office found evidence of a kickback scheme involving a city housing worker and a group of landlords.

"In response to the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) report, to ensure proper oversight, staff deemed it necessary to temporarily pause some approvals and implement a requirement for management approval before issuing certain benefits," said a written statement from Kale Brown, acting director of housing and homelessness.