[homeles_ot-l] Housing & Homelessness FW: [nhhn-can] WI on the federal throne speech: The "h" words are mentioned!

[Lynne Browne]

FYI

Lynne Browne 
Coordinator, Alliance to End Homelessness 
147 Besserer Street, Ottawa ON  K1N 6A7 
613-241-7913 x 205, lbrowne at ysb.on.ca 
www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca 

 

   _____  

From: Michael Shapcott [mailto:Michael at wellesleyinstitute.com] 
Sent: October 17, 2007 4:18 PM
To: nhhn-can at povnet.org
Cc: hhno-on at povnet.org
Subject: [nhhn-can] WI on the federal throne speech: The "h" words are
mentioned!

Apologies for the delay in getting this note out (I'm on my way from
Vancouver to Toronto, and having a bit of a challenge electronically)..

The federal Speech from the Throne delivered on Tuesday contains one of the
strongest references to housing and homelessness in recent throne speeches.
These speeches are typically very general and set out the overall policy
agenda of the government. Taken with the budget, the throne speech is one of
the most important policy documents.

The 2007 speech includes this paragraph:

"The bedrock of our workforce is middle-class Canadians and their families.
These families worry about the rising costs of
higher education and the expense of caring for elderly parents. They worry
about affordable housing and the
number of homeless people on our streets. Our Government is committed to
helping Canadian families meet their needs.
The Working Income Tax Benefit will help Canadians get back into the
workforce, and the registered disability savings
plan will help families care for children with severe disabilities. Our
Government will continue to invest in our
families and our future, and will help those seeking to break free from the
cycles of homelessness and poverty."

One senior federal homelessness official that I spoke with earlier today
said that this provides the "hook" that they were looking for to make the
argument for the continuation of federal homelessness spending (which is due
to expire at the end of fiscal 2008, along with spending for affordable
housing and housing rehab funding.

We need to be cautious about this (clearly a new tax benefit alone won't
build the housing or fund the services that are required), but the
commitment to "continue to invest in our families and our future..." keeps
the door open.

We were looking for an explicit commitment to renew and enhance the programs
and the funding. That isn't in the speech. But the fact that housing and
homelessness are even mentioned represents a positive opportunity to press
these items. They are now firmly part of the government's policy agenda and
this gives us a point of entry with the government.

More to follow...

- Michael 

* * *

Michael Shapcott, Senior Fellow
The Wellesley Institute
45 Charles Street East, #101
Toronto, ON., Canada M4Y 1S2
Tel. - 416-972-1010, x231
Mobile - 416-605-8316
Fax - 416-921-7228
www.wellesleyinstitute.com




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