[homeles_ot-l] FW: CDN Chamber of Commerce resolution calls for national plan to end homelessness

[Lynne Browne]

Federal FYI, possible support from Canadian Chamber of Commerce on
ending homelessness. 
N.B.,  a Wellesley Institute report notes that federal expenditures on
homelessness and affordable housing have failed to keep pace with
inflation and the growth in population from 1989 to 2009; and that the
federal government is "stepping out" of its housing and homelessness
investments. By 2013, federal housing program spending will drop by 18%
to $1.9 billion, the federal Affordable Housing Initiative will drop to
just $1 million for the entire country and funding will be cut to zero
for the federal homelessness strategy and the federal housing
rehabilitation program.

 

Lynne Browne

Coordinator, Alliance to End Homelessness (ATEH)

lbrowne at ysb.on.ca <mailto:lbrowne at ysb.on.ca> 

Office: 613-241-1573, ext. 205 --- (Temp. # till Jan. 2011)

Mail to: 147 Besserer St., Ottawa, ON K1N 6A7

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

________________________________

From: hhno-on-owner at povnet.org [mailto:hhno-on-owner at povnet.org] On
Behalf Of Michael Shapcott
Sent: September 15, 2010 9:25 AM
To: Michael Shapcott
Subject: [hhno-on] Chamber of Commerce resolution calls for national
plan to end homelessness

 

"Homelessness is bad for business and the federal government does not
have a national plan to end homelessness in Canada." Those are the
opening words in powerful resolution from the Burnaby Board of Trade,
the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce and the Surrey Board of Trade
that will be debated by delegates to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce
later this month. The resolution (starting on page 74 of the Chamber's
resolution book
<http://www.chamber.ca/images/uploads/Proposed_resolutions/2010/Proposed
%20English%202010.pdf> ) has been backed by the Special Issues Committee
of the Chamber. The Wellesley Institute's Precarious Housing in Canada
2010
<http://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/news/affordable-housing-news/new-repo
rt-precarious-housing-in-canada-2010/> identifies people who are
homeless as key priorities for a new national housing plan.

The Chamber of Commerce is the national body that represents more than
300 local boards of trade and chambers of commerce which, in turn,
represent more than 175,000 local businesses. An increasing number of
local business groups are insisting that there is a business interest in
good social policy. "Homelessness has a direct financial impact on
businesses as it deters customers, damages employee recruitment and
retention, harms tourism and discourages companies from setting up
offices in areas with a visible homeless population," according to the
Burnaby resolution. "For many municipalities and business communities in
Canada, homelessness is a real problem that requires expenditures on
security upgrades to maintain the safety of staff and property.
Businesses cannot realize their full potential while homelessness exists
in their areas, due to reduced revenues through lost sales."

"A national plan to end homelessness will clearly set the goals,
objectives, metrics and outcomes for all homelessness initiatives and
will provide the proper mechanisms to more effectively address the
issue. Without a clear strategy to direct national efforts to end
homelessness, businesses will continue to be negatively impacted by the
growing crisis," says the Burnby resolution.

"Since the federal government needs to contain spending on programs, and
because it would not be socially and economically prudent to cut funding
for homelessness initiatives, a viable course of action would be to
reallocate funds from the federal budget to develop a national plan to
end homelessness," urges the Burnaby BOT.

In its report, the WI notes that federal expenditures on homelessness
and affordable housing have failed to keep pace with inflation and the
growth in population from 1989 to 2009; and that the federal government
is "stepping out" of its housing and homelessness investments. By 2013,
federal housing program spending will drop by 18% to $1.9 billion, the
federal Affordable Housing Initiative will drop to just $1 million for
the entire country and funding will be cut to zero for the federal
homelessness strategy and the federal housing rehabilitation program.

The WI report notes that maintaining spending at the 2009 level and
targeting the investments would fund a 10-year national housing and
homelessness plan.

-          Michael

 

***

 

Michael Shapcott | Director, Affordable Housing and Social Innovation |
Wellesley Institute 

45 Charles St E, Suite 101                    Tel: 416.972.1010 ext 231
Toronto, ON, Canada,  M4Y 1S2           Mobile: 416.605.8316  
E-mail:   michael at wellesleyinstitute.com

 

www.wellesleyinstitute.com

rigorous research. pragmatic policy solutions. social innovation.
community action.

 

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