[homeles_ot-l] Housing in CCPA Alternative Budget 2010; Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis video

Wed Mar 3 13:25:59 EST 2010

FYI . . . CCPA's Alternative Federal Budget has a section on housing and
homelessness (pgs. 67-73); you can download it at the link below. 

CCPA reports that as of Nov. 2009, the federal government showed that ZERO
of the $ 242.8 million promised over 2008/2009 for the Affordable Housing
Initiative have been delivered. 

At the same time, the Finance Department 2009 Tax Expenditure Report showed
$3,000 million for the Home Renovation Tax Credit for those who own homes
and are fortunate enough to have disposable income to spend on renovations.

CCPA's Alternative Federal Budget includes three additions to the previously
announced federal housing investments -

1.	Doubling expenditures for the Homelessness Partnering Strategy to
135 million 

2.	Doubling expenditures for the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance
Program to 128 million

3.	Increasing spending for New Housing Supply and Supports by 1.7
billion and targeting it specifically to truly affordable housing for low
and moderate income households.

Lynne Browne

Coordinator, Alliance to End Homelessness (ATEH)

147 Besserer St., 2nd Floor, Ottawa, ON K1N 6A7

Cell 613-513-6647

Office 613-241-7913, ext. 205

www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca <http://www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca/> 

  _____  

From: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
[mailto:nationalnewswire at ccpanews.ca] 
Sent: March 2, 2010 5:35 PM
To: lbrowne at ysb.on.ca
Subject: Alternative Budget 2010; Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis video

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<http://e2ma.net/go/8050189540/2615576/92057765/34091/goto:http:/www.policya
lternatives.ca/publications/reports/alternative-federal-budget-2010> 

Dear Friends and Members,

The CCPA released the 2010
<http://e2ma.net/go/8050189540/2615576/92058210/34091/goto:http:/www.policya
lternatives.ca/publications/reports/alternative-federal-budget-2010>
Alternative Federal Budget yesterday along with a six point jobs plan to
confront the jobs crisis and tackle the fiscal deficit with less pain and
more gain.

The alternative budget and jobs plan would bring unemployment back to
pre-recession levels by the end of 2011 and demonstrate there is a better
way to get out of deficit through smart investments and smart taxation.

The full alternative budget document, budget in brief, and the jobs plan are
available on the CCPA website in both English
<http://e2ma.net/go/8050189540/2615576/92058211/34091/goto:http:/www.policya
lternatives.ca/publications/reports/alternative-federal-budget-2010>  and
French
<http://e2ma.net/go/8050189540/2615576/92058212/34091/goto:http:/www.policya
lternatives.ca/publications/reports/alternative-budg%C3%A9taire-pour-le-gouv
ernement-f%C3%A9d%C3%A9ral-2010> .

Today the Toronto Star published a commentary piece by CCPA Research
Associate Hugh Mackenzie explaining why deficit hysteria is no excuse to end
economic stimulus. The piece is pasted below and is also available on our
website here
<http://e2ma.net/go/8050189540/2615576/92058213/34091/goto:http:/www.policya
lternatives.ca/publications/commentary/deficit-hysteria-no-excuse-end-econom
ic-stimulus> .

<http://e2ma.net/go/8050189540/2615576/92057769/34091/goto:http:/www.policya
lternatives.ca/multimedia/naomi-klein-climate-debt> 

The CCPA hosted the inaugural David Lewis Lecture, in Toronto last week. The
lecture, introduced by Avi Lewis and presented by Naomi Klein, is now
availble for viewing on our website here
<http://e2ma.net/go/8050189540/2615576/92058214/34091/goto:http:/www.policya
lternatives.ca/multimedia/naomi-klein-climate-debt> .

Avi Lewis gave a stirring tribute to his grandfather's legacy, noting that
many of the social safety gains made in his time are now being successfully
attacked and lost.

Klein's lecture on climate debt focused on the idea that poor countries are
owed various forms of reparations for the climate crisis, of which they are
the greatest affected, and the least responsible.

Both were powerful presentations worth taking the time to watch.

All the best,

Bruce Campbell, Executive Director

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
410-75 Albert Street, Ottawa, ON K1P 5E7
tel: 613-563-1341 fax: 613-233-1458
email: info at policyalternatives.ca
http://www.policyalternatives.ca
<http://e2ma.net/go/8050189540/2615576/92058215/34091/goto:http:/policyalter
natives.ca> 

  _____  

Deficit hysteria no excuse to end economic stimulus

March 2, 2010

As Canada's recession winds down, there is growing talk of housing and debt
bubbles but there is an even bigger bubble that's set to burst.

It's the Harper government bubble - that carefully crafted, out-of-touch
universe our Prime Minister has been living in since recession threw
hundreds of thousands of Canadians out of work.

Within the Harper bubble, the recession is over and so it's time to turn the
taps off stimulus funding and get back to the original extreme Conservative
program of gutting public services.

Within the Harper bubble, unemployed Canadians are grateful to the Harper
government for all the help they are getting. Within the Harper bubble of
government-sponsored TV ads, Canada's recession victims look downright
cheerful, despite the fact that 810,000 employment insurance (EI) recipients
are poised to run out of benefits with no strategic stimulus plan to get
them working.

In the real world of recession and a fragile economic recovery, the Harper
government's efforts in last year's federal budget fell far short of what's
needed. It's a problem still in search of a solution.

Canada's commitment to economic stimulus has been lukewarm compared with
that of many other countries in the OECD.

The contrast between the Canadian stimulus program and that of the United
States could not be more stark: A scattergun program less than the sum of
its parts in Canada versus a strategic focus on capacity-building priorities
in the United States.

In Canada, the Harper government held up more than 80 per cent of its
stimulus spending for more than a year - and then winter set in and the
ground froze.

In the U.S., where President Barack Obama refuses to live in a bubble, the
federal government had already delivered millions of jobs by the third
quarter of 2009.

Thanks to the Harper government's foot-dragging and scrambling for political
advantage, Canada's economic stimulus is late getting into the market, and
with the threat of a slowdown in Canada's hot housing market, the worst
thing the government could do right now is take its foot off the gas and hit
the brakes.

Canadians deserve better. And it isn't too late to use the 2010 budget to
make a fresh start.

The number 1 priority has to be employment. Canada lost nearly half a
million jobs in the recession and those jobs aren't coming back quickly.

Canadians still need the support of extended EI.

Canadians also need a robust stimulus program aimed at creating jobs and
building Canada's capacity for the future.

The absolute worst thing the Harper bubble government could do now is to
shift its focus to deficit hysteria. Canada's economic recovery is fragile,
and that of the United States - our biggest trading partner - is even
weaker. As both the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have pointed
out, governments that pull their stimulus funding too quickly could cause
another recessionary dip.

That mistake must be avoided at all costs.

As big as our deficit may look in Canadian historical terms, it is not that
large in a global context. A recent survey in The Economist shows that
Canada's deficit as a share of GDP is the second smallest on a list of major
economies, larger only than China's.

Our debt as a share of GDP is a fraction of that faced by other major
countries. It is far too early in the economic cycle to know if Canada even
has a structural deficit large enough to worry about in the longer term.

The Harper government should use the opportunity presented by this week's
federal budget to shift the emphasis in economic stimulus toward investments
that will pay off for Canada's economy in the long term: strengthening our
post-secondary education system; addressing the health system challenges of
an aging population; continuing to rebuild our physical infrastructure; and
funding a Canadian response to climate change.

Finally, although this may be too much for even the most incurable optimist,
the government could set aside its ideology, suspend its planned corporate
tax cuts and reconsider its non-policy on early childhood education funding.

The corporate tax cuts don't make sense. They put Canada out front in a race
to the bottom in North America that we shouldn't be in. They make no
contribution to the recovery of businesses hurt by the recession - and not
making any profit anyway - while delivering savings to industries that don't
need the help.

A budget that took on these challenges would be a refreshing change for
Canada. It's time for the Harper bubble to burst.

Hugh Mackenzie is a CCPA Research Associate.

Click here
<http://e2ma.net/go/8050189540/2615576/92058216/34091/goto:http:/www.policya
lternatives.ca/multimedia/naomi-klein-climate-debt>  to watch Avi Lewis
introduce the David Lewis Lecture Series and Naomi Klein speak on climate
debt.

Did you know over 30 civil society organizations, representing millions of
Canadians, took part in the year's Alternative Federal Budget process?
Click here
<http://e2ma.net/go/8050189540/2615576/92058217/34091/goto:http:/www.policya
lternatives.ca/publications/reports/alternative-federal-budget-2010>  to
check it out.

CCPA National Office | Suite 410, 75 Albert Street, Ottawa, ON, K1P 5E7 |
Tel: 613-563-1341 | Fax: 613-233-1458

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