[homeles_ot-l] CHPI / CSUMB - Budget 2014

Thu May 1 19:53:11 EDT 2014

Hi folks,

Some of you will recall that the Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network and 26 other community organizations across the province sent a letter to the Minister of Community & Social Services last November. We asked to have the $42M in transition funding for municipalities to maintain the funding level for CHPI (which replaced the Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit) made a permanent addition instead of a one-year fund.

As you'll see below, in spite of the unsupportive response we got initially from the Minister, the $42M has been added to the base funding for CHPI. People often ask me why I bother going after governments to do the right thing and here's a good demonstration of the answer - it does work sometimes!!  

As Jennefer says, we still need to see all the details but I think it's time for some jumping up and down! So you know how happy you should be, in 2013/14 Ottawa's share of the $42M was $2,303,395. That's a lot of eviction prevention and other supports for people facing housing-related crises!!

The next step will be to ensure that Ottawa uses the new dollars well - get ready to talk to your favourite councillor or bureaucrat. 

I sure do love when it goes as it should!! 

Linda.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."  Dr Seuss.

From: Jennefer Laidley (ISAC) <laidleyj at lao.on.ca>

Sent: Thursday, May 1, 2014 6:43:45 PM
Subject: CHPI / CSUMB - Budget 2014

Hello everyone,

It's been a hectic afternoon in Budget lockup and there's lots of responses being crafted and circulated, but I wanted to be the first to let you all know that the 2014 Budget includes this nugget: 

"The government is enhancing annual funding for the CHPI by $42 million starting in 2014-15, to a total of $294 million" (p120). See here: http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/budget/ontariobudgets/2014/ch1d.html#s1-68.

And the Budget press release that deals with investments in "'Fostering a Fair Society" says: "Consistent with the success of housing-first approaches in Ontario and elsewhere, the government is enhancing annual funding for the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI) by $42 million starting in 2014–15, to a total of $294 million. The CHPI allows municipalities to better address local housing priorities." http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/budget/ontariobudgets/2014/bk3.html 

In other words, WE WON! 

Clearly we need more details about how the money will be allocated to local municipalities. And we need to do more work to ensure local municipalities are actually passing the money through to low income people in their communities. But we should savour this moment as a victory in what can happen when we take collective action.

Thank you again for participating in this effort, for all your hard work on this issue, and for continuing to advocate for people on social assistance in Ontario and all those who face housing insecurity and homelessness in our communities.

Cheers,
Jennefer

PS - for your information, here is a link to ISAC's response to Budget 2014: http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=095b12c98935ecaadd327bf90&id=4c2e0787d7 

And here is the 25in5 Network's response: http://25in5.ca/ontario-budget-builds-momentum-for-the-next-poverty-reduction-strategy/ 

Jennefer Laidley
Research & Policy Analyst
Income Security Advocacy Centre
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ISAC website:  www.incomesecurity.org
Social Assistance Review website: www.sareview.ca

________________________________
 From: Jennefer Laidley (ISAC) 
Sent: January-20-14 1:51 PM
Subject: CHPI / CSUMB - response from McMeekin

Hello colleagues,

Late last week, we received the attached letter from Minister McMeekin responding to the joint letter sent by 27 community organizations on November 26. I’m sending this email to all of you who were signatories, and your local colleagues, as well as to a number of others who followed up our joint call with their own letters and emails. Thanks to all of you. 

Minister McMeekin’s response states that government is unwilling to make the $42 million in transitional funding for CHPI a permanent part of the envelope provided to municipal service managers. We have not received a response from any of the other addressees.

Despite this disappointment, we have not given up on continuing to push on this issue. On Thursday, I appeared before the legislature’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs at its pre-budget hearings in Toronto – among our recommendations is the reinstatement of CSUMB and the Home Repairs Benefit as well as making the $42 million for CHPI permanent. Our written submission can be downloaded from our website here: http://www.incomesecurity.org/documents/ISAC-PreBudgetSubmissiontoStandingCommittee2014.pdf. 

I know that many of you will also be appearing before the Standing Committee as its hearings take place across the province, and I encourage you to include a pre-budget recommendation on this issue in your remarks. You may also wish to submit a brief written submission to the Standing Committee with this issue included. The deadline is this Thursday, January 23 and contact details can be found here: http://www.ontla.on.ca/committee-proceedings/committee-hearings-notices/files_html/Pre-budget%20EN.htm. 

There will also be opportunities to forward this issue during Minister of Finance Charles Sousa’s pre-budget consultations, the details of which are here: https://www.ontario.ca/government/pre-budget-consultations-2014. 

In addition, we worked with the Wellesley Institute and Social Planning Toronto on an op-ed that will be in the Star this week. The focus of the op-ed is the situation in Toronto, as $4.3 million will be lost from the City’s Housing Stabilization Fund budget with the loss of the $42 million, but the provincial angle is also highlighted. You can get more details on the situation in Toronto and, if you live in Toronto, sign the TogetherToronto petition here: http://togethertoronto.ca/campaigns/housing-stabilization-fund. 

Whatever happens in the short term, people on social assistance and other low-income Ontarians will continue to need additional funds over the longer term to address their housing and homelessness needs. We’ve just finished working with our colleagues at the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO) to put together a funding application for a continuing project on this issue. If the application is granted, we will have dedicated staff time to get a complete picture of CSUMB-like replacement programs across the province (including eligibility, benefit levels and program administration details), build a network of groups and organizations working on this issue, and create an advocacy program moving forward. We are not sure when we will hear back on our funding proposal, but will contact you again once we do as we hope that this group will form the backbone of the network. 

Thanks again to all of you for your hard work on this issue and for continuing to advocate for people on social assistance in Ontario and all those who face housing insecurity and homelessness in our communities. 

Cheers,
~J

Jennefer Laidley
Research & Policy Analyst
Income Security Advocacy Centre
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425 Adelaide Street West, 5th Floor
Toronto, Ontario   M5V 3C1
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ISAC website: www.incomesecurity.org
Social Assistance Review website: www.sareview.ca
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Phone: 416-597-5820 x 5155
Fax: 416-597-5821
Email: laidleyj at lao.on.ca
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