A total of 1,252 people stayed in homeless shelters in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2008, according to the first-ever Halifax Report Card on Homelessness 2009, which was released today. The report, prepared by Community Action on Homelessness, provides a grim accounting of the poor health and terrible conditions facing people who are homeless in a community […]
Housing
Ontario makes substantial down payment on new provincial housing plan
Ontario has made a substantial down payment to meet the housing needs of tens of thousands of people who are precariously housed or homeless. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and housing minister Jim Watson have announced plans today to invest $624.5 million over the next two years in affordable housing initiatives. When combined with matching federal […]
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Alberta announces $3.2b plan to end homelessness
The Alberta government has today released a dramatic plan to end homelessness in 10 years by committing $1.2 billion in capital investments and $2 billion in operating funding. The plan – based on the “housing first” approach (which provides immediate housing and then offers supports as required) – will lead to the creation of 11,000 […]
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U.S. housing funding: Good news, and still some shortfalls…
The U.S. federal government is committing almost unimaginable trillions of dollars in various financial packages (stimulus measures and federal budget). The latest analysis of U.S. affordable housing investments from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is mixed; there’s good news in some housing initiatives, and shortfalls in others. U.S. housing policy relies heavily on vouchers […]
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Happy International Women's Day – much work still to do!
As people around the world gather today to celebrate International Women’s Day – and there is plenty to celebrate – we also re-commit ourselves to ending the inequalities and inequities facing women in Canada and around the world. For instance, in his special report on housing in Canada that is being presented to the United […]
Continue ReadingHappy International Women's Day – much work still to do!
BC auditor confirms that province's homeless programs "not successful"
John Doyle, the British Columbia auditor, has just released a sobering review of homelessness programs that concludes that the provincial government “has not been successful in reducing homelessness. Clear goals and objectives for homelessness and adequate accountability for results remain outstanding. Government also lacks adequate information about the homeless and about the services already available […]
Continue ReadingBC auditor confirms that province's homeless programs "not successful"
United Nations to Canada: You need a national housing plan
Canada urgently needs a “comprehensive and coordinated national housing policy” to meet its international housing rights obligations, according to a powerful new report from Miloon Kothari, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing that is being tabled at the United Nations’ Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday. The report is […]
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United Nations to Canada: You're failing in your housing obligations…
Canada has a long and successful history of housing programs that have provided a good home to literally hundreds of thousands of households, but much of that history has been shredded by almost two decades of funding cuts, downloading and cancellation of programs at the federal level, and also at lower levels of government. That's […]
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Where's Home? – declining prospects in Ontario
As Ontario continues its slide into one of the deepest recessions in 50 years, the income gap between renters and home owners in the province continues to increase. This worrisome trend, combined with low vacancy rates in many areas and long waiting lists for social housing across the province, highlights the need for increased investment […]
Continue ReadingWhere's Home? – declining prospects in Ontario
Day three of Canada's national housing and homelessness conference includes a call to action
Day three (Friday) of Canada’s national housing and homelessness conference – and the 600-plus delegates unanimously backed a resolution that calls on the federal government to remove the restrictions that it has imposed on the $2 billion in affordable housing investments in the recent federal budget; and also calling on the federal government to increase […]