-
WI backgrounder: New fact sheet from United
Nations sets out international right to
adequate housing - Posted
November 24, 2009
-
WI backgrounder: Canada to UN rights
review - we'll decide which international
obligations we'll observe; promises to do
better job on housing, homelessness
- Posted June
8,
2009
Canada has signed a
significant number of international
human rights treaties that are legally
binding in international law, but the
federal government believes that it can
pick and choose among its obligations -
according to the
official document tabled at the
United Nations' Rights Council in Geneva
today. The good news is that the federal
government has accepted its
responsibility to take a stronger role
in ensuring all Canadians are adequately
housed, but the federal government says
that companion initiatives to address
deep and persistent poverty and income
inequality are mostly the responsibility
of provinces and territories (and not
the national government). The federal
government refuses to officially
incorporate its international rights
obligations into domestic law (even
though many other countries, including
the United States, do this as a matter
of course), it won't ratify a new
international agreement that allows for
a more robust investigation of human
rights violations within Canada and it
won't allow Canadian courts to take on
cases involving international human
rights violations.
Canada is in the midst
of a Universal Periodic Review of all of
its international human rights
obligations, and member countries of the
UN have raised
68 specific concerns about Canada's
failure to meet recognized international
standards. Two of the main sources of
international human rights law are the
International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights and the
International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights - both of which
have been ratified by Canada, along with
a number of other international rights
instruments.
International human
rights cover a wide range of economic,
social, cultural, civil and political
activities (such as the right to vote,
and the right not to be imprisoned
without trial). The Wellesley Institute
focuses much of our work on the
internationally-recognized right to
adequate housing, the right to health
and the rights that relate to persistent
inequalities (including poverty).
On housing and
homelessness, the federal government
dismantled most of Canada's national
housing program in the 1990s, and has
replaced it in recent years with a
fraying patchwork of short-term and
unco-ordinated funding and initiatives
at the national and sub-national level.
Housing insecurity and homelessness are
nation-wide realities. The feds have a
series of short-term intiatives,
including the Affordable Housing
Initiative, the Residential
Rehabilitation Assistance Program and
the Homelessness Partnering Strategy,
that only reach part of the country and
aren't adequately funded. In their
response tabled in Geneva today, the
federal government has promised to do
better on housing and homelessness
issues.
In order for Canada to
meet the commitments that it is making
today in Geneva to "intensify" its
housing and homelessness work, the
federal government needs to follow the
practical strategy set out by Miloon
Kothari, the United Nation's Special
Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate
Housing, whose
final report on his official
fact-finding mission to Canada
contains a series of pragmatic
suggestions to bring Canada into
compliance with its international
housing rights obligations.
Other national and
international NGOs are preparing their
own analyses of today's report from
Canada to the UN, and we'll post links
as they are available.
- Michael
-
WI backgrounders: Only a fraction of federal
homelessness / housing dollars allocated; feds need
to take action to reduce poverty
- Posted June 1,
2009
Nine months
after the federal government promised $1.9 billion
to extend its national homelessness initiative (and
a month after current funding for this initiative,
plus the federal housing renovation plan and the
affordable housing initiative, has expired), the
federal government has allocated $81.7 million -
about 4% of the total amount promised in September
of 2008. Canada’s federal budget of January 29, 2009
promised $2.075 billion over two years. Most of the
2009 federal dollars require matching funding from
the provinces, and some of the 2008 dollars require
matching funding. Virtually all of the 2009 dollars
are tightly tied to specific federal priorities and
cannot be used for housing needs identified by local
communities. Four months on, the federal government
has allocated $884.3 million – about 43% of the
total amount promised in January of 2009. Funding
agreements have not yet been signed with half the
Canadian provinces, including the biggest by
population (Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia,
Alberta and Manitoba). A new backgrounder from the
Wellesley Institute on federal housing promises and
allocations is available here.
Meanwhile, as the House of Commons HUMA committee
continues its parliamentary hearings on a new
national plan to eliminate poverty, the Wellesley
Institute has prepared a seven-part action plan,
available here, that includes the following
recommendations:
First, beef up the role of Statistics Canada to
identify and monitor the key indicators. If you
can’t measure it, you cannot manage it.
Second, fully engage Canada’s vital social sector –
the web of non-profit, charitable and voluntary
organizations that provides critical services to
individuals, strengthens communities and makes a
contribution to the country’s GDP that is six times
larger than the auto sector.
Third, implement a national affordable housing plan
that ensures that existing homes are affordable and
healthy, and that new homes are built to meet the
growing needs of Canadians.
Fourth, implement a national community health plan
to support expansion of community health centres and
supports a nation-wide infrastructure for sharing
innovation health practices at the local and
regional levels.
Fifth, launch a national campaign to reduce poverty
and income inequality. Canada has the second worst
record among developed nations, according to an
October 2008 survey by the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development.
Sixth, launch a national campaign to reduce the
health inequalities between lower and upper income
Canadians and among other groups in our country. We
can learn a lot from the decade-old campaign in
Great Britain where the latest assessment is: “Much
achieved, much still to do”.
Seventh, reverse federal fiscal policy of the past
two decades (tax cuts that primarily benefit the
wealthy and social spending cuts that primarily hurt
the poor) that, according to the OECD, has helped
fuel deep and persistent poverty and income
inequality in Canada.
The WI’s Michael Shapcott will present the
recommendations to the HUMA committee at its Toronto
public hearings on Tuesday.
- Michael
-
SALVATION ARMY CALLS FOR NATIONAL HOUSING POLICY!
- Posted May 19, 2009
Powerful new research from Salvation Army underlines
critical need for affordable homes:
Poverty shouldn’t be a life sentence, says Salvation
Army
The
Salvation Army in Canada, the largest operator
of homeless shelters in the country, has
released a powerful new research report that
underlines the critical need for affordable
housing to meet the challenges of homelessness
and deep and persistent poverty across Canada.
“Poverty
shouldn’t be a life sentence” includes a
detailed survey of the people who use Salvation
Army shelters, along with the staff. It reveals
that one-quarter of homeless men have jobs;
two-thirds of shelter users have income from
welfare or employment; nearly half of shelter
users suffer from health issues; affordable
housing is the first step to resolving
homelessness.
The
bottom line: “The Salvation Army urges the
federal government to develop a national housing
strategy that includes ending homelessness as a
priority. Without a national framework,
addressing all of these issues at its
foundation, individuals experiencing
homelessness and poverty will continue to have
difficulty building permanent and safe lives.”
-
Michael
-
WI
backgrounder: Making history in Ontario -
Politicians join to unanimously back anti-poverty
law - Posted May 7, 2009
Ontario’s Legislative Assembly dropped its usual
partisan divisions for a few moments earlier today
(Wednesday) to give unanimous consent to third and
final reading of Bill 152, the province’s
anti-poverty law. The bill – which will pass into
law once it receives Royal Assent (expected shortly)
– is a critical step towards a more equitable,
healthier and fairer province. The Wellesley
Institute was pleased to play a strong role in
gaining significant amendments to the legislation,
including a strong commitment to strengthening
Ontario’s third sector. We were invited by Ontario’s
anti-poverty minister, Deb Matthews, to join with
our partners in the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty
Reduction in the public gallery of the Legislature
to observe the final vote. This note explains why
the bill matters and what’s in the legislation,
underlines the critical amendments to the draft law,
and sets out next steps.
WHY THE BILL MATTERS: The bill, once it
becomes law, will bind the current and future
governments to take specific steps to end poverty in
Ontario. Any law can be changed by a future
government, but changing legislation is more
difficult (and more public) than quietly dropping a
political promise or campaign commitment.
Declarations, promises and commitments are often
made by politicians (and they are important, in
their own right), but there’s nothing binding or
enduring about these kinds of statements.
Legislation carves the commitments into law – and
that’s why it is so important that Ontario will soon
have an anti-poverty law.
WHAT’S IN THE LEGISLATION: Bill 152 is
available here. It’s pretty simple. It makes an
overall commitment to “establish mechanisms to
support a sustained, long-term reduction of poverty
in Ontario”. The bill sets out:
-
key
principles for poverty elimination,
-
commits
the government to make a “specific poverty reduction
target”,
-
establishes indicators to measure progress in
meeting the stated target, and
-
sets out
a timeline and ongoing consultation process.
CRITICAL AMENDMENTS: The Ontario government
adopted a number of important amendments to the
draft legislation during the committee review
process, including amendments proposed by the
Wellesley Institute and our partners in the 25 in 5
Network for Poverty Reduction. Among the many
improvements to the draft law, the Ontario
government:
-
explicitly recognizes that the third sector
(non-profit, charitable and voluntary groups) are
integral to poverty reduction plans, and
-
recognizes the need to address inequities and
inequalities among Ontarians.
Minister
Matthews, in speaking to the Legislature during
Question Period immediately before the law was
passed, thanked the many groups that helped to
improve the legislation. She also singled out
Michael Prue, the MPP for Beaches-East York, for his
stellar work. The bill, as amended, isn’t perfect.
But it sets the framework for a detailed poverty
elimination strategy, including strengthening the
province’s third sector.
NEXT STEPS: The government is launching a
detailed review of income assistance rules and
regulations, and will start a consultation to
develop a comprehensive affordable housing plan
later in the spring. The Ministry of Finance has
promised a consultation on government procurement
rules (an important lever to support social
enterprises across the province).
The Wellesley Institute is committed to working with
our partners to ensure that the Ontario government
takes the pragmatic and practical steps, and commits
the necessary funding, to realize the commitments
set out in Bill 152.
- Michael
-
WI
backgrounder: When it comes to pandemics, not
everyone is affected equally
-
Posted April 29, 2009
-
WI
backgrounder: Ontario finally allocates Aboriginal
housing dollars, neglects to credit federal funds
- Posted April 20, 2009
The Ontario government announced earlier today that
it will allocate the remaining $60 million of an $80
million federal off-reserve Aboriginal housing trust
fund to the Ontario Aboriginal Housing Support
Services Association. The federal dollars were
authorized by Parliament in 2005 and assigned to
Ontario in 2006. It has taken Ontario almost three
years to allocate the federal dollars. The province
signed a deal with the Ontario Federation of Indian
Friendship Centres, the Métis Nation of Ontario
Secretariat and the Ontario Native Women’s
Association to fund more than 500 low-income
Aboriginal households outside the Greater Toronto
Area at an average of $120,000 per-unit.
The province signed a legal agreement with
Aboriginal housing and service providers in the GTA
to allocate $20 million for 350 new homes (an
average subsidy of $62,500) in November of 2008. In
both announcements, Ontario housing minister Jim
Watson and Aboriginal affairs minister Brad Duguid
claimed full credit. Minister Duguid said: "This
initiative is another example of the Ontario
government taking action to improve social
conditions for Aboriginal people," without thanking
or acknowledging that the funds came entirely from
the federal government.
- Michael
-
Alberta makes
down payment on 10-year housing plan - Posted
April 14, 2009
The Alberta budget, released today, makes the first
down payment on the province's recently released
multi-billion dollar, ten-year housing plan. Here is
an excerpt from today's budget documents on housing:
HOMELESSNESS INITIATIVES / AFFORDABLE HOUSING
PROGRAMS
Homelessness Initiatives. With Budget 2009,
implementation of the 10-year plan to end
homelessness in Alberta begins. The 2009-12 Capital
Plan includes $100 million in 2009-10, and $400
million over three years to support development of
about 2,700 housing units for the homeless. Another
$107 million in operating support is budgeted in
2009-10. This includes nearly $41 million to support
over 3,600 spaces in emergency/transitional
shelters, and $32 million to provide outreach
support services to about 1,000 homeless Albertans
this year.
Affordable Housing Programs. The province remains
committed to develop 11,000 new affordable housing
units. The 2009-12 Capital Plan includes $178
million in 2009-10, and $468 million over three
years for affordable housing. Operating support is
budgeted at $103 million in 2009-10, including $56
million for the rent supplement program. This year,
about 8,600 clients of the Homeless and Eviction
Prevention Fund will be transitioned to the rent
supplement program. This will help manage costs
while meeting clients' needs for stable and
affordable housing.
The full budget documents are posted here...
http://tinyurl.com/ckksj
More detailed analysis to follow...
- Michael
-
[hhno-on] Homeless in Halifax: New report card from
CAH - Posted on March 24, 2009
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 that is,
for many Canadians, a picturesque port city on Canada's
eastern coast. The report documents the meagre
investments in affordable homes by federal and Nova
Scotia governments, and sets out a series of practical
and pragmatic actions to end homelessness in Halifax.
- Michael
-
WI
backgrounder: Ontario's $624.5 million investment
'substantial down payment' on provincial housing
plan - Posted on March 24, 2009
TORONTO:
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 dollars, it amounts to more than
$1.2 billion. The Ontario government says that the money
will be used to fund:
- repairs
to 50,000 rundown social housing homes (including
energy efficiency) for a combined federal-provincial
investment of $704 million (an average of $14,000
per unit); and,
- funding
for 4,500 new affordable homes for seniors, people
with disabilities and other low-income households
for a combined federal-provincial investment of $545
million (an average of $120,000 per unit).
- The
funding for the 4,500 new affordable homes will flow
in three categories:
- $370
million for affordable homes for seniors and people
with disabilities; and,
- $175
million for affordable homes by extending the
existing Canada-Ontario affordable housing program.
Not only will
55,000 households get new or renovated homes, but there
will be a multi-billion-dollar boost to the provincial
economy, including thousands of good quality jobs in the
construction and related sectors, at a time when the
stimulus is urgently needed. The new investments will
also breathe life into the consultations for a new
provincial housing plan, which are expected to start in
the next two or three months.
Today’s provincial housing announcement meets the first
priority set out by the Wellesley Institute in our 2009
budget recommendations to the Government of Ontario,
which was to fully match federal affordable housing
dollars. But provincial housing investments still lag
behind the deep and persistent need across the province,
and Ontario is lagging behind provides such as Alberta
in making commitments for urgently needed new housing
investments.
Ontario has done well to make the substantial down
payment towards a new provincial housing strategy, but
it must keep moving forward. Additional investments are
required in new homes to meet the growing housing needs
across the province; repairs to rundown housing; a new
Ontario housing benefit to help the one-in-four Ontario
households that are living in unaffordable homes; plus
support services for people with physical and mental
health concerns, and emergency relief (shelters, support
and transitional housing) to help the tens of thousands
of Ontarians who are experiencing homelessness.
- Michael
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 new homes by 2012, according to the
provincial government. Full details, including
funding and implementation lines, will be released
in next month’s provincial budget. Alberta’s plan –
the first of its kind among the federal government
and Canada’s provinces and territories – builds on
top of a record of dramatic increases in affordable
housing investments in recent years.
Alberta cut provincial affordable housing
investments in the early 1990s, as did many other
provinces, but has dramatically increased
investments in the past couple of years. From fiscal
2007 to 2008 (the latest year for which numbers are
available), Alberta’s housing investments jumped
140% to $4.57 billion – a record increased compared
to other provinces.
With today’s announcement, Alberta’s investments are
scheduled to continue to increase. The critical
details of the Alberta plan will be closely
scrutinized by housing experts (more detailed
analysis from the Wellesley Institute will follow),
but the news has surprised more than a few housing
advocates who don’t expect the Alberta government to
be blazing the lead on critical social policy issues
such as affordable housing. Compared to Ontario, for
instance, Alberta – at about one-quarter the
population – is making investments in affordable
housing that are substantially higher than Ontario,
which is leading to the creation of more affordable
homes in that province.
Much of the credit for today’s announcement goes to
active and energetic housing groups in Calgary,
Edmonton, Red Deer and many other municipalities
which created local 10-year housing plans and then
“uploaded” the requirements to meet those plans to
the provincial level.
- Michael
-
WI
Backgrounder: B.C. Auditor Weighs In - That
Province's Homeless Programs 'Not successful'
-
Posted on March 8, 2009
On Thursday,
Miloon Kothari, the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing,
delivered a powerful critique of Canada’s failure to
meet its international housing obligations. That
same day, John Doyle, the auditor for British
Columbia, delivered an equally devastating critique
of that province’s homeless programs. Thanks to Jill
Clements in Victoria for sharing the news from the
west coast.
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 to
them — this hampers effective decision making.
Finally, government has not yet established
appropriate indicators of success to improve public
accountability for results.”
The auditor’s report echoes many of the themes
raised by the
United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the Right to
Adequate Housing in the final report on his
fact-finding mission to Canada, which will be tabled
at the UN Human Rights Council on Monday. The
auditor calls for a much more thorough and pragmatic
plan to end homelessness in British Columbia, and
notes that many other jurisdictions have already
adopted solid plans.
A key observation of the B.C. auditor:
“We found significant activity and resources
being applied to homelessness issues but there is no
provincial homelessness plan with clear goals and
objectives. The foundation of many best practices
appear to be in place. However, the absence of clear
goals and objectives raises questions about whether
the right breadth and intensity of strategies are
being deployed. This is further complicated by the
lack of good comprehensive information about the
nature and extent of homelessness in the province.
Homeless counts identify only the ‘visible’
homeless; those in shelters and those found on the
streets. The ‘hidden’ homeless, those staying
temporarily with friends or family, are not counted.
The continuing increase in the number of homeless
counted suggests a lack of success in managing
homelessness, let alone reducing it. When there are
no clear goals or performance targets,
accountability for results is missing. How will we
know we are successful if we have not identified
success?”
- Michael
-
WI
backgrounder: UN to Canada - you need a national
housing plan! -
Posted on March 5, 2009
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, available at <
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/10session/A.HRC.10.7.Add.3.pdf
>, is based on Mr. Kothari’s recent fact-finding
mission to Canada.
“Canada is the only major country in the world
without a national housing plan – and that leaves
local communities to cope with deep and persistent
housing insecurity and homelessness on their own,”
says Michael Shapcott, Senior Policy Fellow at the
Wellesley Institute. “As a leading and
well-respected global expert on housing and
homelessness, Mr. Kothari is telling Canada that it
is failing to meet its fundamental obligations in
international law. This is the latest in a series of
damning reports from the United Nations – and should
be a clear warning that Canada needs to adopt the
practical recommendations set out by Mr. Kothari.”
For instance, in May 2006, the United Nations’
Committee on Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights concluded its review of Canada by
calling housing insecurity and homelessness “a
national emergency” and noted that “most of its 1993
and 1998 recommendations have not been implemented”.
The Wellesley Institute, a research and policy
institute celebrating its first decade of advancing
urban health, worked with Mr. Kothari and United
Nations’ officials to help organize his meetings
with community and academic experts across Canada.
In his report, Mr. Kothari reviewed general housing
and homelessness concerns, examined issues facing
women and Aboriginal people, and studied the housing
impact of the Vancouver Olympics.
“The recent federal budget includes an additional $2
billion for affordable housing, and the new
investments are welcome,” says Mr. Shapcott.
“However, it’s one-time only dollars and won’t
repair the fraying patchwork of federal programs and
investments that have been condemned by Mr. Kothari.
Federal affordable housing investments have been
eroding in recent years and are set to fall to their
lowest level in more than a quarter century.”
- MIchael
-
[hhno-on] Ignatieff and the federal budget... a
proposal... -
Posted January 29, 2009
Now that Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has
announced he will support the federal budget, as
long as the feds agree to issue accountability
reports in March, June and December, we need to
seize the strategic opportunity. No matter what our
personal (or partisan) views about Ignatieff's
decision, these accountability reports (if the
concession is accepted by the Harper government)
will give us an opportunity to define the critical
housing issues and issue our own assessment of
whether the federal budget is meeting those
concerns. Some of us have already criticized the
federal budget for being too prescriptive when it
comes to housing (the feds will only allow the
investments to be spent on a short list of their
priorities - seniors, people with disabilities,
social housing repairs), too many restrictions
(including the matching funds requirement - which
has hobbled previous federal-provincial-territorial
housing deals) and totally missing the point (the
"driveways and decks!
" renovation tax credit - which only goes to people
who already own a home and have about $9,000 in cash
to put down before they get their $1,400 federal tax
credit). We've put out our own overall set of budget
proposals (including the $2.5 billion ask and the
emergency relief ask), so we can prepare and release
our own accountability reports to coincide with the
federal reports - assessing whether the federal
budget is, in fact, helping the people who are
hurting the most in the current recession.
And, as an aside, it has been suggested that we
might want to consider launching a national campaign
to encourage homeowners or cottagers who have an
extra $9,000 sitting around to use it to build a
deck, claim their renovation tax credit, and then
invite a homeless family to come live under their
deck.
- Michael
-
Budget
2009: Estimates of the Provincial/Territorial Shares
of Cost-shared Federal Housing Programs - Posted January 29, 2009
As you know, the federal budget on Tuesday had
three cost-shared housing programs (social housing
renovation, seniors’ housing and housing “for people
with disabilities”). I am trying to get the specific
numbers and mechanisms from federal officials. In
the meantime, I have prepared a simple chart that
sets out the allocation of the funding on a per
capita basis. This may, or may not, be the actual
allocation model that the feds use, but it at least
gives us a start in understanding the numbers. The
attached chart shows, on a per capita basis,
the amount of money from each of the three programs
for each province and territory, the total federal
contribution, and the provincial / territorial
matching share that will be required to access the
federal dollars.
|
