Stephen Broomer’s documentary on the Toronto homeless street count will be screened at Toronto’s Brunswick Theatre on Tuesday, March 27, at 7 p.m. (296 Brunswick). “The Great Homeless Count” is a spirited romp through the politics and methodology of counting homeless people, and assessing their needs. Michael Shapcott, Senior Fellow at the Wellesley Institute, is […]
Housing
Day one – national Aboriginal housing summit
Sunday was day one of Canada’s first-ever national Aboriginal urban housing summit in Winnipeg. The National Aboriginal Housing Association invited about 80 Aboriginal housing leaders from across the country for several days of information-sharing and strategizing. I was delighted, and honoured, to be invited to deliver a keynote address at the Sunday luncheon and will […]
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A housing policy win – more homes on the way!
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced onTuesday 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 […]
Continue ReadingA housing policy win – more homes on the way!
Wellesley update: Federal homeless funding never spent
More than $70 million in federal homeless funding was never spent, according to an internal study that was revealed in a Canadian Press story on Sunday (see full text below). This is more than double the $37 million in unspent federal homeless dollars that the then homeless minister, Diane Finlay, acknowledged in August of 2006. […]
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2007 – year of housing for all?????
It’s a new year, and Canada has a new federal housing and homelessness minister. What would be the best new year’s resolution for the Hon. Monte Solberg, as he settles into his new office? In recent years, growing homelessness and housing insecurity, along with effective political advocacy, has prompted politicians to create a patchwork of […]
France set to declare right to housing
France is set to declare housing as a fundamental right following a high-profile protest in downtown Paris by homeless people and housing advocates. The right to housinghas been recognized in international law for decades, and is incorporated in countless international covenents, treaties, declarations and other legal instruments. However, many countriessign the international documents then fail […]
Renter households face supply, affordability squeeze
Higher rents and fewer vacant units ” Canada’s nation-wide affordable housing squeeze is continuing to tighten for the country’s four million renter households. That’s the news today as Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation released its latest rental market numbers. Detailed numbers will be released for provinces and metropolitan areas and are available from Canada Mortgage […]
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Commons' finance committee calls for housing, homelessness action
Earlierthis week, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance released its recommendations after pre-budget consultations across Canada. I was invited to appear in front of the committee earlier in the fall as an expert witness on housing and homelessness on behalf of the Wellesley Institute.
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Provincial Pre-Budget Submission on Housing and Homelessness
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 […]
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500 homeless dead – and counting!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006, marked a grim anniversary. The Homeless Memorial at the Church of the Holy Trinity in downtown Toronto added its 500th name at the regular monthly service yesterday. That’s 500 women, men and children – our mothers, our fathers, our sisters, our brothers, our sons, our daughters – who have died on […]