Homelessness and Housing |  Les sans-abri et le logement |
Page révisée le 2 mai 2008
[ Go to Canadian Social Research Links Home Page ]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Homelessness
in Canada · Canada Poverty
in Canada |
Homelessness and Housing | Les sans-abri et le logement |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Homelessness
in Canada · Canada Poverty
in Canada |
Jump directly to links further down on this page: NOTE: this page focuses mainly on Canada; the U.S. and international links are a bit on the sparse side... Government Links Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers responsible for Housing Homelessness Partnering Strategy (replaces the National Homelessness Initiative April 1, 2007) 2006 Rental Market Reports and Canadian Housing Observer (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) National Housing Day Non-Government Links Ontario Links (including the April 2005 Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Agreement) American homelessness links International homelessness/housing links ---- United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing - October 2007 |
What's New from The Daily [Statistics Canada]:
May
1, 2008
2006
Census: Earnings, income and shelter costs
Statistics Canada today
releases detailed analysis of data from the 2006 Census on earnings and income.
(...) Also available today are several tables containing 2006 Census data on shelter
costs. Supplementing the 2006 Census data * 2006 Census sub-module
May
1, 2008
Housing
and shelter costs
- incl. topic-based tabulations, a complete cumulative
profile (including income and earnings, and shelter costs), the updated housing
and dwelling characteristics reference guide and more...
--------------------------------------
From The Toronto Star:
Buddy
can you spare a home?
April 5, 2008
By
Laurie Monsebraaten
More than 66,000 individuals and families in Toronto are
on the list for subsidized apartments in these buildings – a number city
officials say would take 66 years to serve at the current rate of affordable housing
construction. They are the tip of a veritable iceberg of need in a city where
an estimated 200,000 low-income households spend more than 30 per cent of their
income on rent and another 4,000 sleep in homeless shelters every night.
Ottawa
must commit on housing: Province
April 5, 2008
By Laurie Monsebraaten
A
Toronto plan to provide safe, affordable homes for more than 200,000 vulnerable
families and individuals in the next 10 years may never get off the ground if
Ottawa doesn't contribute, warns Ontario Housing Minister Jim Watson.
Source:
War
on Poverty : Special coverage <===links to dozens and dozens of articles,
editorials and reports
[ The Toronto Star
]
Public
housing - from Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia Affordable
housing - from Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia |
| 2008
Quality of Life (QOL) Report: Trends & Issues in Affordable Housing & Homelessness (PDF file - 3.6MB, 40 pages) January 2008 This publication, the fourth theme report published by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities as part of the Quality of Life Reporting System (QOLRS), focuses on trends related to housing and homelessness in 22 large and medium-sized municipalities and urban regions in Canada. The report's focus is the period 2000-2006, with some reference to trends dating back to 1991. Source: FCM Quality of Life Reports [ Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)] |
The
Homeless Hub |
Canada
lacks housing strategy From CTV: Canada
ranks best on housing affordability survey Canada is at the top of the list in a new study comparing housing affordability in six countries. The
Demographia International Housing
Affordability Survey: 2008 (PDF - 768K, 52 pages) released by Wendell
Cox Consultancy, compared conditions in the larger cities of Australia, Canada,
Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. |
Government Links |
Homelessness
Partnering Strategy (replaces the National Homelessness Initiative April
1, 2007)
- this link takes you further down on the page you're now reading
Site map - on one page, everything that's on this enormous website... CMHC for Consumers --- incl. links to : Buying a Home * Mortgage Loan Insurance * Renting a Home * Maintaining a Home * Renovating a Home * Programs & Financial Assistance (residential rehabilitation, emergency repair, home adaptation for seniors, etc.) CMHC for Housing Industry Professionals and Community Groups --- CMHC contributes to the well-being of the housing sector by offering : Best practices in housing construction and design * Housing market trends and demographics * A wide variety of programs & financial assistance * Affordable housing strategies. CMHC for Housing Finance Clients and International Clients --- CMHC is your proven business partner and strives to provide our housing finance clients with : Innovative mortgage loan insurance products & services * Effective default management and claims payment * Offering housing solutions to help countries around the world build better housing systems * Assisting Canadian companies to export goods and services. Aboriginal --- Browse by Topic : On-Reserve, Off-Reserve and Northern Housing -------------------------- CMHC
Research Report Listings by Subject Federal, Provincial and Territorial Agreements on Affordable Housing Housing
in Canada Online -------------------------------------- Noteworthy reports:
|
Understanding Eviction Highlights
Report - Cycles of Homelessness: Related Links: Cost
Effectiveness of Eviction Prevention Programs (PDF file - 112K, 4
pages) |
Provinces
and Territories Disappointed with NOTE: As at April 6/08, there was no federal news release about the event on the websites of the Federal Government News Centre and Human Resources and Social Development (the HRSDC Minister is responsible for housing in Canada). Funny. Not funny ha-ha... <begin taxpayer rant> According
to information obtained by the Wellesley Institute, the "meeting" was
scheduled to last ninety minutes - extended from the half-hour that HRSDC
Minister originally offered to spend with his provincial counterparts. After all,
they had a lot of catching up to do --- they hadn't met in three years. But that's
a whole *other* rant, best left to the Michael Shapcotts and the David Hulchanskis
of the world. This rant is about the federal government calling
together so many people (ministers and staffers) from across Canada for a meeting
that lasted 90 minutes. How many of my tax dollars are wasted on this largely
symbolic gesture? </end taxpayer rant> ------------------------------------------------------------------- Related links: From the They
came, they saw...nothing happened Federal,
provincial, territorial housing ministers meet today FPT
housing ministers finally set to meet! -------------------------- Some
context : News release and related document Provincial-Territorial
Meeting of Ministers responsible for Housing: From the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat : Provincial-Territorial
Meeting of Ministers responsible for Housing
Federal-Provincial-Territorial
Meeting of Ministers responsible for Housing Provincial-Territorial
Meeting of Ministers responsible for Housing Ministers
accelerate affordable housing and move forward on a new housing approach ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ministers
Discuss New Investments in Housing Programs Provincial-Territorial
Meeting of Ministers responsible for Housing ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ministers
Reach Agreement on Affordable Housing ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ministers
agree to work on affordable housing program ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the Federation of Canadian Municipalities : FCM
Urges Housing Ministers to Act on Canada's Affordable Housing Crisis
|
Homelessness
Partnering Strategy The Homelessness Partnership Initiative is the cornerstone of the Homelessness Partnering Strategy and takes a housing-first approach. The Homelessness Accountability Network strengthens the networks between designated communities and other key stakeholders. The Surplus Federal Real Property for Homelessness Initiative makes surplus federal real properties available to help prevent and reduce homelessness. ---------------------------------- Historical
info on the National
Homelessness Initiative - Plans, Spending and Results for 2005/2006 Source: Related Links: National
Homelessness Initiative Presentation to The
National Homelessness Initiative (PDF file - 99KB) |
July
26, 2006 Complete report: Housing
Data in the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (PDF file - 180K,
22 pages) October
18, 2005 Complete document: Food
Statistics 2004, vol. 4, no. 2 (PDF file - 543K, 36 pages) January
5, 2005 July 23, 2004 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- StatsCan
provides first count of Canadians living in shelters CAVEAT : "Living in a shelter" doesn't necessarily mean homeless, nor are all homeless people living in shelters. 2001
Census: Collective dwellings - Statistics Canada --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Housing:
An income issue (June 21, 2002) |
| Homelessness
Economics Division Parliamentary Research Branch Parliament of Canada January 1999 Thirty-eight pages of information on homelessness in Canada - definitions, types of homelessness, counting the homelessness, composition of the homeless population, homelessness and health, an international perspective, and much more... Source : Parliamentary Internet |
CitizenSHIFT
"We
are an independent, socially active, and nationally representative web magazine,
that gives activists, organizations, and socially conscious media producers a
forum for watching, listening, reading, and interacting with the issues that Canadians
are dealing with, that may not have representation in the mainstream media. Our
mission is to give a place for the voices of those that are less heard, or ignored,
who do not have the chance to represent themselves in the media. CitizenSHIFT
is a valuable tool for organizations and individuals to have their issues talked
about, and utilizing all the forums that multimedia interaction can offer.
Our content is dictated by the submissions that we receive, but there are often
shared themes between groups and media makers. Currently we are showcasing different
activist artists’ work and perspectives on poverty and homelessness
in the different chapters of the web magazine. In the chapter, REEL COMMUNITY
– the film and its filmmakers of “Hide and Go Homeless” are featured,
telling their rigorous journey to get their film finished against all odds. In
REBELS WITH A CAUSE – CitizenSHIFT features Craig Chivers, a photosensitive
artist whose activism through photography is showcased, along with interviews
with Craig."
Source:
National Film Board
Women
Need Safe, Stable, Affordable Housing: A study of social, private and co-op housing
in Winnipeg
By M. McCracken and G. Watson
February 2004
"(...)
The housing crisis in Canada has been linked to the federal government's withdrawal
from housing in the 1990s. The proportion of female-headed renter households paying
30% or more of their household income on housing increased from 38% to 47% between
1980 and 1995, and female-headed households comprise 45% of Canadian households
with core housing need. As a result of the withdrawal of federal funding, there
has been no expansion of social housing in Manitoba and a decrease in the total
number of low-income rental units. (...) As a response to the housing shortage,
the federal government became involved in housing again in 2003. The federal and
provincial governments developed the Affordable Housing initiative (AHI). They
have earmarked $50 million dollars for housing programs in Manitoba; the City
of Winnipeg has put forward $17.5 million dollars.
Executive
Summary
Complete report (PDF file - 840K, 50 pages)
Source:
Prairie
Women’s Health Centre of Excellence
2007
Forum on Social Housing and Homelessness for
Service Managers, Shelter Providers
and Front Line Staff (PDF file - 1.3MB, 25 pages)
September
18–20, 2007
Toronto, Ontario
"(...)The theme for this year’s
forum, “It Starts with Us”, is reflected in the main message within
the keynote addresses and workshops being offered over the two-and-a-half- day
forum. Delegates who deliver municipal social housing and homelessness services
as well as shelter and hostel representatives from across Ontario can expect to
come away from this forum with tools, resources and concrete examples of partnerships,
as well as a renewed sense of the importance of collaboration as they pursue the
goal of healthy communities and a home for all Ontarians."
Source:/
Ontario
Municipal Social Services Association
National Housing Day From the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: National
Housing Day Celebrated with Launch of 2008 CMHC Housing Awards Affordable
Housing resources From
the website of Monte Solberg: National
Housing Day Co-operative
Housing Federation Canada Related links: Bleak
reminder on housing day Shared Learnings on Homelessness ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- National
Housing Day 2006: Related Links: The
Wellesley Institute - "The Wellesley Institute advances the social
determinants of health through rigorous community-based research, reciprocal capacity
building, and the informing of public policy." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd
Annual National Housing Day ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- National
Housing Day |
Non-Government Links |
Ottawa's
Kindness Meters
Spare
change, sir? Feed the meter, Ottawa mayor says
December
3, 2007
Mayor Larry O'Brien is encouraging generous Ottawa residents not to
reach for their wallets as they pass the scruffy panhandlers who beg for spare
change on the city's cold sidewalks. Instead, the public should save their loonies
and toonies for special coin banks or "kindness meters" similar to parking
meters that will be installed in the Byward Market this week
Source:
CBC
<Warning : leftie rant! >
This is wrong for so many reasons
that I didn't know where to begin my rant, so I decided to spotlight yesterday's
blog entry by my friend, Susan Scruton. It's a very thoughtful, articulate and
compelling rebuttal of the concept of "kindness meters". Here's a summary
of the reasons why the Ottawa Mayor's plan is full of baloney:
* They’re
insulting to poor people.
* They attempt to dehumanize compassion.
* They
could lead to an increase in crime by people with addictions.
* They
introduce a layer of bureaucracy into the equation.
* There
is no guarantee that the panhandlers most directly in need, like mentally ill
people, will receive any help.
* They put social service
agencies in direct competition with their clients for our spare change.
*
How elitist of the Kindness Meters to only take loonies and toonies!
* The
concept is based on hypocrisy and stinginess.
"This
is the same mayor who compared homeless people to pigeons and said if we stopped
feeding them, they’d go away. We know where he stands on this issue. When
he tries to fake compassion he just looks like the rich, stingy hypocrite he is."
Read
the complete "Kindness Meters" blog entry (December 17)
by
Zoom
... and feel free to share the
link to this blog with the Office of the Mayor of Ottawa: Larry.OBrien@ottawa.ca
Good
for you, Zoom!
Shame on you, Larry.
Maybe instead of allocating the money
collected to social agencies, Kindness Meters could be used to help fund Larry's
compassion transplant .
</end leftie rant>
------------------------------------
Chretien
dodges any blame for homeless
Jean
Chrétien oversaw the scrapping of the Canada Assistance Plan.
By
Charlie Smith
November 29, 2007
Former prime minister Jean Chrétien
doesn't think that the government he led for 10 years is responsible for Vancouver's
growing homelessness problem. In a wide-ranging phone interview with the Georgia
Straight to coincide with the release of his new book, My Years as Prime Minister
(Alfred A. Knopf Canada, $39.95), Chrétien said that the federal government
has "some limited responsibility" for homelessness.
Source:
The
Georgia Strait (Vancouver)
| Policy
Area: Housing and Homelessness (PDF file - 124K, 16 pages) June 2007 Recommended reading for all housing/homelessness researchers --- this is a detailed inventory, for 2006 and 2007, of federal, provincial/territorial and some municipal program and policy announcements and events in the areas of housing and homelessness Source: Social Policy Record [ Caledon Institute of Social Policy ] |
------------------------------------
Thousands
of homeless children losing out on education (PDF file - 208K, 1 page)
News
Release
October 1, 2007
TORONTO – A groundbreaking new report shows
at least 2,000 homeless children in Toronto are needlessly at risk of slipping
through the cracks of the education system every year. Lost in the Shuffle, by
the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto and Aisling Discoveries Child
and Family Centre, is the first study in Canada to document the impact of homelessness
on children's education in Toronto.
Complete report:
Lost
in the Shuffle : The Impact of Homelessness on Children's Education in Toronto
(PDF file - 5.9MB, 131 pages)
Phase 3 Report of the Kid Builders Research Project
Source:
Community
Social Planning Council of Toronto
Aisling
Discoveries Child and Family Centre
Related link:
Homeless
kids neglected
Report says educational, emotional support lacking for students
living in shelters
October 01, 2007
Every year about 3,000 school
children in Toronto live in homeless shelters, says a new study to be released
today. Yet despite this long-standing problem – the number of affected children
has remained steady for the last five years –there are no government or school
board policies to ensure the educational and emotional needs of these vulnerable
children are being met, says Lost in the Shuffle, the first Canadian study on
the issue.
Source:
Toronto Star
------------------------------------
| The
[Toronto] Street Health Report 2007 (PDF file
- 2.4MB, 66 pages) September 2007 "(...) The Street Health survey was conducted over a three-month period between November 2006 and February 2007. We surveyed a representative sample of 368 homeless adults at meal programs and shelters in downtown Toronto about their health and access to health care." - includes "an action plan consisting of realistic solutions to immediately improve the health of homeless people and to ultimately end homelessness." Source: Street Health (Toronto) ... an innovative, community-based health care organization providing services to address a wide range of physical, mental and emotional needs in those who are homeless, poor and socially marginalized. Support, education and advocacy are key components of our services. |
------------------------------------
Improving
the Health of Canadians 2007-2008: Mental Health and Homelessness
The
Improving the Health of Canadians: Mental Health and Homelessness report provides
an overview of the latest research, surveys and policy initiatives related to
mental health and homelessness and, for the first time, presents data on hospital
use by homeless Canadians.
- includes links to the complete report and
the media release (both of which are reproduced below) as well as links
to download individual report sections, related documents and contact
info if you wish to order a paper copy of the report
Complete Report:
Improving
the Health of Canadians 2007-2008:
Mental Health and Homelessness
(PDF file - 458K, 70 pages)
August 2007
Media
Release:
Mental
disorders account for more than half of hospital stays among the homeless in Canada:
New
CIHI report offers overview of links between mental health, mental illness and
homelessness
August 30, 2007—Mental
disorders accounted for 52% of acute care hospitalizations among the homeless
in 2005–2006 (outside Quebec), according to a new report released today by
the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). In addition, the report
shows that 35% of visits to selected emergency departments (EDs)—mostly in
Ontario—by homeless people were related to mental and behavioural disorders,
a proportion that is higher than that for other patients (3%).
Source:
Canadian Population
Health Initiative
[ Canadian
Institute for Health Information ]
Related links:
Homeless
hospitalized more often for mental illness: study
10,000 people in Canada are
homeless on any given night
August 30, 2007
Homeless people
in Canada have more mental health problems than the rest of the population, leading
to higher hospitalization rates, says a new report released Thursday.
Mental
disorders accounted for 52 per cent of acute care hospitalizations among the homeless
in 2005-2006, said the report, released Thursday by the Canadian Institute for
Health Information (CIHI).
Source:
CBC News
Prime
Minister launches national Mental Health Commission
August 31,
2007
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced the final selection of the
Board of Directors for the newly created Mental Health Commission of Canada.
Source:
Office
of the New Prime Minister of Canada
Related Web/News/Blog links:
Google Search Results
Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms
(without the quote marks):
"CIHI, report, mental health, homelessness"
-
Web search results page
- News
search results page
- Blog Search Results
page
Source:
Google.ca
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homeless
in Canada: Resources
Homelessness
in Canada: News & Reports
Recommended reading!
Source:
Intraspec.ca
"Intraspec.ca
presents readings, writings and research on selected subjects, including AIDS
reversal, astrology, blood-type diets, Enneagram, finding a doctor, homelessness
and poverty in Canada (bolding added), influenza, job search, legal aid, medical
marijuana, memes, personality types, Nordic Walking, nutrition, Ottawa walk-in
clinics, and more." [excerpt from the site
index]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homelessness
'chronic' in Canada: study
June 26, 2007
Canada's homeless population
is somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 people, while another 1.7 million residents
struggle with "housing affordability issues," says an analysis of the
latest research on shelter. In a report released Tuesday from the Calgary-based
Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership, journalist and author Gordon
Laird argues homelessness is now chronic and is quickly becoming one of the country's
defining social issues. He makes a case for a national housing strategy and a
more robust income security program.
Source:
CBC
News
Complete report:
Homelessness
in a growth economy: Canada’s 21st century paradox (PDF file
- 2.6MB, 98 pages)
By Gordon Laird
A
Report for the Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership
"Supporting
a Canadawide homeless population of 150,000 people costs Canadian taxpayers between
$4.5- to $6-billion each year"
Table of Contents:
–
Findings & Policy Summary
– Introduction: Shelter, from Alms to Asset
–
IQALUIT: Discovering Canada’s Hidden Homeless
– OTTAWA: The National
Underclass
– TORONTO: Ground Zero
– CALGARY: Poverty Amid Affluence
–
VANCOUVER: New Frontiers
– Conclusion: Ending the Crisis
Appendix I:
The Cost of Homelessness
Appendix II: How Many Poor People?
Related link:
Sheldon
Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership
We work on : * Governance,
rule of law, and democratic institutions * Legal ethics * Media ethics * Bio-medical
and other technology issues * International affairs * Business ethics * Education
and youth leadership * Human rights and civil liberties * Diversity issues * Environment
and natural resources * Social justice
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Panhandling
In Winnipeg: Legislation versus Support Services
by
Tom Carter - Canada Research Chair in Urban Change and Adaptation -
with Anita
Friesen, Chesya Polevychok, John Osborne
May 2007
In June 2005, The City
of Winnipeg passed an amendment to By-Law 7700/2000 prohibiting some methods of
panhandling, and placing restrictions on some aspects of panhandling activity,
particularly related to specific types of services or locations. This project
addresses the following questions regarding the need for, and the effectiveness
of, this legislation:
- Given the nature, number and activity of panhandlers
in the city, is this legislation an appropriate response to the circumstances?
- Is the legislation likely to be effective? and,
- Are there more effective
means of addressing the issues of panhandling? Is legislation the answer or should
the focus be on services and programs to address systemic problems that lead to
panhandling in the first place?
The
report is available in four volumes:
(scroll to the bottom of the list
of journals for a brief summary of the content of each of the four volumes whose
links appear below)
Volume
1: Executive Summary (PDF file - 300K, 8 pages)
This volume presents
an overview of Volume 2, 3 and 4, and summarizes the findings of the Panhandling
in Winnipeg research project.
Volume
2: Literature and Legislation Review (PDF file - 598K, 55 pages)
Academic
literature provides valuable insights into who panhandles and why they are on
the streets of North American cities. The studies reviewed here document the increasing
diversity and overall growth in the numbers of people panhandling. Negative reactions
to panhandling have prompted many municipal governments to attempt to control
panhandling through legislation and/or program approaches that assist panhandlers
to “get off the street”. The main legislative/program approaches to
addressing panhandling are reviewed here.
Volume
3: Mapping of Panhandling Activity (PDF file - 10.2MB,
76 pages)
This volume presents the results of field observation of panhandling
activity in central Winnipeg. It focuses on the mapping of panhandling locations
and panhandling methods, including distribution of panhandlers throughout the
study area, priority or high traffic locations for panhandling activity, and proximity
to “sensitive services.” The types of panhandling methods used, and
the distribution and frequency of occurrences of different methods was also recorded
and mapped.
Volume 4: Interviews with Panhandlers (PDF file - 403K, 83 pages)
If you have any comments or questions about the report, please direct them to Tom Carter at t.carter@uwinnipeg.ca or you may contact him by phone at (204)982-1148.
Source:
Journal
articles, research reports ===> See also : * Research
Highlights * Background
and Resource Documents * Community
Briefs
[Institute of Urban Studies
(University of Winnipeg)]
Also from the Institute of Urban Studies:
Twelve
recent reports on panhandling (special focus on
Winnipeg)
Click the link above to access 20 reports of the Canada Research
Chair in Urban Change and Adaptation at the Institute of Urban Studies (University
of Winnipeg).
The titles of the 12 most recent reports appear below; click
the link above to access these studies and more...
* Why Panhandlers are
on the Streets of North American Cities (June 2007)
* Who Panhandles
in Winnipeg? (June 2007)
* Panhandling in Winnipeg Project: Mapping
Methodology (June 2007)
* Location of Panhandling Activity in Winnipeg
(June 2007)
* Panhandling Alone or in Groups: What is the Approach in Winnipeg?
(June 2007)
* When Panhandlers are Active in Downtown Winnipeg (June
2007)
* Different Groups' Perception of Panhandling in Winnipeg (June
2007)
* Legislative Approaches to Panhandling (June 2007)
* Program
Approaches to Panhandling (July 2007)
* Housing Circumstances of Panhandlers
in Winnipeg (July 2007)
* Does Panhandling Provide a Living (July
2007)
* Why do Panhandlers Panhandle in Winnipeg? (September 2007)
Source:
Publications
/ Research Highlights
[ Journal
articles, research reports ] ===> See also : Background
and Resource Documents * Community
Briefs
[ Canada
Research Chair in Urban Change and Adaptation ]
[ Institute
of Urban Studies, University of Winnipeg
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Wellesley Institute
The Wellesley Institute advances the social determinants
of health through rigorous community-based research, reciprocal capacity building,
and the informing of public policy.
Issue
Pages: Housing and Homelessness
- incl. links to key online resources,
presentations and blog entries on this issue
Sample content:
Federal
Budget 2008:
Three Housing Questions for Finance Minister Flaherty
(PDF file - 120K, 8 pages)
On Tuesday (Feb. 26), Federal
Finance Minister James Flaherty will deliver the 2008 budget.
Michael Shapcott,
Director of Community Engagement, reviews three key federal programs affecting
housing and homelessness with a focus on key issues and solutions.
Related links : go to the Canadian Government Budgets Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/budgets.htm
Canada's
home ownership markets plummet
March 14, 2008
By Michael Shapcott
Home
ownership in Canada is at its most unaffordable level since the "housing
recession" of 1990. That's the grim news today from RBC Economics and its
latest quarterly housing affordability report. Outside of Alberta, housing affordability
has deteriorated in every market and for every type of housing.
Complete RBC report:
Housing
Affordability:
Alberta on watch (PDF file - 475K, 8 pages)
March
2008
Source:
RBC Economics
Research
Wellesley
Institute's 2008 national housing report card
shows that feds, most provinces
fail to meet their own funding promises
February 4, 2008
On
the eve of the first provincial-territorial housing ministers' summit in almost
two and one-half years, a new report card from the Wellesley Institute reveals
that the federal government and eight of the thirteen provinces and territories
have failed to meet the commitments they made in November of 2001 to invest an
additional $2 billion in affordable homes. "The numbers underline the urgent
need not only for more dollars for affordable homes," says Michael Shapcott
of the Wellesley Institute.
Complete report:
National
Housing Report Card 2008 (PDF file - 202K, 18 pages)
Feds, most
provinces fail to meet their commitment to increase affordable housing funding
by $2 billion
Related documents and links
from
the National Housing Report Card 2008 main
page:
Affordable housing gap tops $1 billion - from The Toronto Star
Ten Things You Should Know About Housing and Homelessness
Federation of Canadian Municipalities National Housing Action Plan
Wellesley Institute's Housing and Homelessness Issues page
University of Toronto’s Centre for Urban and Community Studies
Federal
throne speech Tuesday: Three questions...
October 14, 2007
By
Michael Shapcott
"(...)
Here are three key questions for the throne
speech on housing and homelessness, which continue to be urgent priorities for
Canadians right across the country.
ONE: Will the federal government renew
and enhance housing, homelessness and rehab funding?
TWO: Will the federal
government commit to funding and realistic targets for new affordable homes across
Canada?
THREE: Will the federal government invest some of its multi-billion
dollar surpluses in new affordable homes?
Family
homelessness hits 20-year high in NYC
July
23, 2007
By Michael Shapcott
New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg's 2004 plan to cut homelessness in the Big Apple by two-thirds
produced an almost immediate decline in the number of people in homeless shelters.
But the latest numbers show a sharp upward spike to the highest number of homeless
families in two decades. All the details are available from the NYC
Department of Homeless Services and you can read more details from the New
York City Coalition for the Homeless.
Talkin’
housing with the Bush man!
May 10, 2007
The charming, even charismatic,
Philip Mangano - U.S. President George W. Bush’s “homeless czar”
- was the keynote speaker on day one of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association
annual congress in Calgary on Thursday, and he didn’t disappoint! Of course,
you’d expect that a senior political appointee for the Bush administration
would be a good salesman for the policies of that government.
Ontario’s
housing allowance plan
violates federal operating principles
April
5, 2007
Ontario’s $185 million housing allowance plan, announced in the
2007 provincial budget on March 22 and funded entirely with federal affordable
housing trust fund dollars, violates the operating principles tabled by federal
finance minister Jim Flaherty in the House of Commons in May of 2006.
First
peek at federal budget 2007: Disappointment!
Wellesley Institute backgrounder:
A first look at the 2007 federal budget
March 19, 2007
The 2007
federal budget entirely ignores Canada’s nation-wide affordable housing crisis
and homelessness disaster, and is light when it comes to other social determinants
of health.
Source:
Will
federal budget deliver new housing program?
Michael Shapcott
March
16, 2007
The Harper government will deliver its second federal budget on Monday,
March 19, 2007. Canada is one of the richest countries in the world, and the federal
government continues to run multi-billion dollar surpluses (largely because of
huge spending cuts - including housing spending - in the 1980s and 1990s). The
Wellesley Institute’s 2007 federal pre-budget housing backgrounder looks
at some key issues.
A
housing policy win - more homes on the way!
February 28, 2007
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced on Tuesday that
the provincial government is going to start the flow of $392.5 million in federal
funding to build new affordable homes in Ontario. Sounds pretty simple - all the
province is required to do is get out of the way and let the federal money flow
to housing developers across the province
Related link:
Fourteen
cents a day won’t build many homes (PDF file - 150K, 6 pages)
February
2007
By Michael Shapcott
The Ontario government spends about 14 cents per
person per day on affordable housing — less than half the amount spent in
2000 — even though the province’s population and its housing needs continue
to grow significantly. The low level of spending means the government has been
able to fund only a fraction of the new homes it promised in 2003. And those targets
from 2003 were already modest, when set against the desperate province-wide need
for affordable homes.
Source:
Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives - Ontario Office
Wellesley
Institute backgrounder:
New year, new homeless funding, new minister
(PDF file - 52K, 4 pages)
Time for a comprehensive, fully-funded strategy
January
8, 2007
It’s a new year and a new housing and homelessness minister for
Canada! The Hon. Monte Solberg, MP for Medicine Hat, Alberta, is usually described
as “affable” (he was a broadcaster before entering politics), which
is a pleasant quality in any cabinet minister. But Canada, alone among the major
countries in the world, has no national housing program. And, even with an emerging
patchwork of funding in recent years, housing funding is lower in 2006 than in
1993.
The
Blueprint to End Homelessness (Toronto) Complete report: The
Blueprint To End Homelessness Framework
for the |
During the week ending August 18/06, both the federal Liberals and the NDP fired off nasty news releases about the cuts that the Harper Government is imposing on its Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative ("SCPI", under the National Homelessness Initiative). Then the evening news talked about funding shortfalls of close to $6 million in Toronto and $1 million in Ottawa, among other cuts. Michael Shapcott of the Wellesley Institute circulated a summary of those cuts, and late the next day, the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development released a statement denying that there were any cuts - and indeed that there was even an extra $37 million available. Here are links to most of those bits of info, along with links to other online resources in the area of housing and homelessness. Round
one goes to community! August 16, 2006 NDP
calls on Conservatives to reverse cuts to federal housing funding Harper
Government Reneges on Funding for the Homeless Federal
homelessness cuts: Bad now, worse to come (PDF
file - 45K, 1 page) Statement
by the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Federal
government decides to fund homeless projects
(Winnipeg) Google Web Search Results: Related Links: Supporting
Communities Partnership Initiative Canadian
Housing and Renewal Association |
Seven
Solutions to Homelessness
Each is working somewhere else, and will save money
and lives here
January, 9 2007
Idea One:
Trade Fairs for the Homeless
Idea Two: Raise the Welfare Rates
Idea Three:
Train Young Workers
Idea Four: Spread the Love Around
Idea Five: Buy a Few
Hotels
Idea Six: Give Addicts Time to Heal
Idea Seven: Bring Governments
Together
- includes links to six more related articles that appeared in
the Tyee during 2006 (scroll down to the bottom of the "Seven Solutions"
article)
Source:
The
Tyee (independent alternative daily newspaper in BC)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commons’
finance committee calls for housing, homelessness action
December
13, 2006
By: Michael Shapcott
On December 7, the House of Commons Standing
Committee on Finance released its its pre-budget report for 2006 entitled Canada:
Competing to Win. [See the links to that report below] Michael Shapcott appeared
before the committee earlier in the fall as an expert witness on housing and homelessness
on behalf of the Wellesley Institute. On the Wellesley Institute Blog, Michael
has posted a brief analysis of the references to and recommendations concerning
housing and homelessness in that report. (...) The committee has accepted the
key messages from housing and homelessness advocates (that the federal homelessness
and housing rehab programs should be extended and that the federal, provincial
and territorial governments need to develop a national housing strategy) in their
recommendations. (...) There is also a fairly extensive
commentary section on housing.
[Michael
Shapcott is Senior Fellow in Residence (Public Policy) at the Wellesley Institute
and a recognized expert on homelessness and housing.
Source:
The
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ The
Wellesley Institute ]
"The Wellesley Institute advances the social
determinants of health through rigorous community-based research, reciprocal capacity
building, and the informing of public policy."
Also from The Wellesley Institute:
Provincial
Pre-Budget Submission on Housing and Homelessness (PDF file - 60K, 4 pages)
08 Dec 2006
The costs of Ontario's affordable housing
crisis and homelessness disaster to individuals, communities and government are
enormous, yet Ontario's housing spending has been dropping sharply since 2000
and is currently at 14 cents per person per day. The Wellesley Institute, in our
provincial pre-budget submission on housing and homelessness, is calling on the
Ontario government to:
o honour the housing commitments that it made in 2003;
o stop blocking the $392.5 million in stalled federal housing dollars;
o and,
upload the cost of housing back to the provincial level and increase overall housing
spending to 25 cents per capita per day as a first step to ramping up housing
spending to meet housing need.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cathy
Crowe's Home Page Cathy
Crowe's Monthly Newsletter Newsletter Archive - links to newsletter issues back to the summer of 2007, PLUS a link (at the bottom of the page) to all issues back to #1 in 2004 To
subscribe to Cathy's Monthly Newsletter, Source: ------------------------ Cathy
Crowe's Newsletter - issue #42 - February 2008 |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Justice
and Injustice :
Homelessness, Crime, Victimization, and the Criminal Justice
System (PDF file - 3MB, 200 pages)
Sylvia
Novac, Joe Hermer, Emily Paradis, and Amber Kellen
Research Paper
Centre
for Urban and Community Studies, University of Toronto
with the John Howard
Society of Toronto
November 2006
[NOTE: the main focus of this study is
Toronto, but you'll find other Canadian and international content there also...]
Summary
of Selected Report Highlights (PDF file - 36K, 8 pages)
PDF file dated
April 24, 2006
Source:
Centre
for Urban and Community Studies (University of Toronto)
John
Howard Society of Toronto
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
World
Habitat Day 2006 - October 2
http://www.unhabitat.org/categories.asp?catid=490
The
United Nations has designated the first Monday in October every year as World
Habitat Day to reflect on the state of human settlements and the basic right to
adequate shelter for all. It is also intended to remind the world of its collective
responsibility for the future of the human habitat.
Source:
UN Human Settlements
Program
http://www.unhabitat.org
---------------------------------------------------
World
Habitat Day - The UN Condemns Canada’s Failure to Provide Adequate Housing
http://www.torontotenants.org/habitat-day.htm
Source:
Metro
Tenants' Associations
http://www.torontotenants.org/
---------------------------------------------------
Alliance
to End Homelessness (Ottawa)
The Alliance to End Homelessness
in Ottawa is a coalition of community stakeholders committed to working collaboratively
to eliminate homelessness by gaining a better understanding of homelessness and
developing and implementing strategies to end it.
Fourth
Report Card on Ending Homelessness in Ottawa Jan-Dec 2007
2007 - A Step
Backwards!
HOUSING: C-
INCOME: C
HOMELESSNESS : D
LENGTH OF
SHELTER STAY : D-
- incl. links to report cards for earlier years
Read
the complete 2007 Report Card (PDF - 2.5MB, 16 pages)
[ version
française ]
Highlights (small
PDF file, 1 page)
[ English
]
[ Français
]
Experiencing
Homelessness
Third Report Card on ENDING Homelessness in Ottawa, Jan-Dec 2006
(PDF file - 3.2MB, 16 pages)
"(...)On February 27, 2007, the Alliance
to End Homelessness released the third annual Report Card on Ending Homelessness
in Ottawa and for the first time, provided grades in four areas: housing, income,
homelessness and length of shelter stay. This year’