Whereas the Government of Canada funding for the Homelessness Partnering Strategy Rural and Remote Homelessness program no longer gives priority to communities with population bases less than 25,000; And whereas the changing focus of this program has left small communities under-serviced and unable to work with the vulnerable populations in finding adequate housing and facilitating social services for individual clients, and without this funding, small local governments are unable to fund outreach workers for these services without creating further financial pressure by downloading of provincial and federal responsibilities: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call on the federal government to refocus the Homelessness Partnering Strategy Rural and Remote Homelessness program funding to those programs in communities of less than 25,000 population.
Employment and Social Development Canada In terms of addressing homelessness, the Government of Canada is concerned about homelessness and recognizes that it affects a diverse cross-section of the population, such as Indigenous people, youth, women fleeing violence, and veterans. As a result, through the Homelessness Partnering Strategy HPS, the federal government provides communities with funds for a range of activities to support efforts to address homelessness. Funding is given to local priorities that communities identify through a comprehensive community planning process involving stakeholders, the private and voluntary sectors, and official from all orders of government. To strengthen the work of communities in their efforts to help homeless Canadians find stable housing, the Government proposed, in Budget 2017, historic investments in federal homelessness programming, announcing 2.1 billion over the next 11 years to expand and extend funding for the HPS. By 2021-2022, this will nearly double the investment made in 2015-2016. On November 22, 2017, the Prime Minister and Minister Duclos announced the launch of the National Housing Strategy NHS. Through the NHS, the federal government is re-engaging in affordable housing and bringing together the public, private and non-profit sectors to ensure that more Canadians have a place to call home. The NHS is intended to contribute to reducing chronic homelessness by 50 percent by empowering local communities to deliver a combination of housing measures. For more information on the NHS, I invite you to visit www.placetocallhome.ca. An Advisory Committee on Homelessness has been engaging with communities, homelessness experts and other stakeholders from across Canada. The Advisory Committee is chaired by Mr. Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary for Housing and Urban Affairs to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and is comprised of housing and homelssness experts, local and regional service providers, and individuals with lived experience of homelessness. The Advisory Committees work will provide a strong evidence base upon which to draw and ensure that a redesigned HPS will effectively help those who are homeless or most at risk of becoming homeless. A What We Heard report incorporating the Advisory Committees work is expected to be published in Spring 2018. The Minister of Families, Children and Social Developments overarching goal is to increase economic and social security for all Canadians, especially those who are most vulnerable. As a result, Employment and Social Development Canada is working on the development of a Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy that will take into consideration issues such as affordable housing and food security. On February 13, 2017, Minister Duclos launched a nation-wide consultation process to hear from Canadians on their priorities for the Strategy. Some of the key themes discussed during the consultations included affordable housing and food security. It is expected that the Strategy will be released in 2018. The Government is committed to continuing the dialogue on how to reduce poverty and reiterates its commitment to find solutions to improve the economic well-being of all Canadian families so they an have a real and fair chance to succeed. To learn more about the development of the Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy, I encourage you to visit www.canada.caenemployment-social-developmentcampaignspoverty-reduction…. Provincial and territorial governments have a shared responsibility with the Government of Canada in addressing the challenges faced by families in situations of low income and poverty. Through the Canada Social Transfer, the federal government provides support to provinces and territories for social assistance and social services, including early childhood development, early learning and child care, and post-secondary education.
FCM