Whereas the homeless population in Metro Vancouver increased by 29.8 per cent between 2014 and 2017; And whereas the federal Homelessness Partnering Strategy has focused its resources on crisis response to the chronically and episodically homeless resulting in those at-risk of homelessness not being eligible for housing support and advocacy services; And whereas municipalities have experienced significant funding cuts to housing outreach, referral and advocacy services, and inadequate funding from other orders of government to address addictions and mental illness is significantly impacting the sheltered and unsheltered homeless population: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the provincial government to work collaboratively with the federal government to place equal emphasis on homelessness prevention and crisis response, to increase funding for housing outreach, referral and advocacy services, and to provide additional funding to address addictions and mental health.
Ministry of Municipal Affairs Housing Addressing homelessness is a top priority for the Provincial Government. The Government has taken the first essential steps to create new ministries, such as the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, and new mandates that help address some of the underlying reasons for homelessness. Work is underway across government to develop a homelessness action plan led by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction in coordination with the Ministries of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and Mental Health and Addictions. As part of the plan, there will be a province-wide homeless count so that we have a better understanding of the situation in our communities. The Government is also taking immediate action to address homelessness. We have announced an expenditure of 291 million to support construction of 2,000 modular housing units for housing the homeless, and 172 million over three years to fund the operating costs including 247 staffing and support services. The first allocation of 66 million is for 600 units of modular housing to be situated on land provided by the City of Vancouver. The Government is committed to reducing homelessness through permanent housing and services. We will work with partners to build 114,000 units of affordable housing throughout BC to ensure everyone has an affordable, secure and functional home. We are actively engaging with the Federal Government to find better ways to align the federal Homelessness Partnering Strategy HPS with provincial homelessness initiatives and funding prior to HPS renewal in 2019. The Province, through BC Housing, works to prevent homelessness with the following programs: - The Homelessness Prevention Program an initiative aimed at providing individuals in identified at-risk groups with portable rent supplements and support services to help them access rental housing in the private housing market. - The Homeless Outreach ProgramAboriginal Homeless Outreach Program outreach and support programs to help people who are homeless or at risk. Outreach workers connect with clients where they are in shelters, on the street, in temporary accommodations. The Ministry has received UBCMs Housing Strategy and looks forward to continuing to work together on recommendations included in the report including homelessness. In addition, the next provincial budget will be announced on February 20, 2018.
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 At the latest board meeting in March 2018, the FCM Board of Directors considered the resolution and categorized it as Category D In accordance with existing FCM policy. This category contains resolutions that have been considered by FCM in the previous three years or that are in accordance with FCMs standing policy and advocacy priorities. In this case, the resolution was received by the Board of Directors for information only.