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Seven provinces have joined a federal rental assistance program created as part of the national housing strategy, the newly released documents show.
So far, the federal government has announced deals with just four provinces to provide Canada Housing Benefit to vulnerable renters, such as low-income families, indigenous people, veterans and newcomers.
Money is already flowing into Ontario, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, but documents filed in the House of Commons last week show that three more unnamed provinces have signed up for cash.
The jointly funded federal-provincial housing benefit is tied to an individual, rather than a subsidized unit that someone might lose when they move to another home.
The liberal government says the dollar amounts and the names of the three added provinces will eventually be revealed in official announcements that they have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indigenous housing providers pushing for a plan
Sunday is National Home Day. It also marks three years since the Liberals unveiled their ten-year housing strategy.
The government has added more programs to the strategy over time, including a short-term $ 1 billion initiative to help cities and housing providers buy properties and quickly turn them into affordable housing units.
Municipalities said they intend to spend the money quickly to force the government to complete the fund.
Likewise, indigenous housing providers are pushing for Ottawa to finally unveil a plan for First Nations, Métis and Inuit living in urban areas.
A House of Commons committee is studying the matter and is expected to present a report by the end of the year, which could lay the groundwork for a program to be unveiled in a spring 2021 budget.
“The federal government must implement a separate housing strategy for indigenous peoples in urban and rural settings, and that Canadians are in favor of the indigenous peoples themselves who design and oversee such a strategy,” said Robert Byers, president of Canadian Housing and Renewal. Indigenous Association Caucus and CEO of Namerind Housing Corp. in Regina.
“It is time for the federal government to follow and announce such a policy as soon as possible.”
Housing Council to work with the federal lawyer
Liberals celebrate the anniversary of the housing strategy by unveiling the members of a key body designed to help the government achieve the plan’s goals.
The National Housing Council will work in tandem with a federal attorney who will help eradicate systemic problems in the housing system. The government also announced on Sunday that it was initiating a formal process to finally fill the role.
Social Development Minister Ahmed Hussen said in a statement that the council and lawyer will help the government recognize the right to adequate housing, calling it a “significant step forward for housing” in the country.
Tim Richter, who will co-chair the housing council, said the group will provide a way for people who have experienced homelessness or lived in need of housing to participate in policies that impact them and identify systemic gaps.
He pointed to higher COVID-19 rates in low-income, racialized communities who also live in substandard housing as an example.
The pandemic has exposed many of the problems facing the housing system, leaving too many Canadians at risk of COVID-19 for no other reason than poor housing, said Richter, president and CEO of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.
“The council, I think, can not only provide that political support and give a voice to those people who are experiencing the need for housing and homelessness in the country, but also light a fire under governments to move much more urgently to address the crisis housing in Canada “.
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