Federal homelessness programs in disarray

Federal homelessness programs in disarray

Another sad story, where Liberals can’t manage — homelessness. Street camping and homelessness affect an individual's health, security, and participation in society and the economy. Addressing housing needs for the most vulnerable Canadians promotes social and economic well-being and contributes to preventing and reducing chronic homelessness. Every politician from Trudeau, premiers, and mayors say we have a national problem. Through Ottawa, Canadian taxpayers have invested millions to respond to homelessness. It’s a big deal.

Yet surprisingly, for all the political capital and actual dollars spent, Infrastructure Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada does not know, or seem to want to know, if their efforts to reduce homelessness are actually working. It is also incredible that Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation does not know who is benefiting from the money it spends on homelessness.

Unbelievable? The whole story is exposed by the auditor-general, who said there was minimal federal accountability for reaching the advertised targets of reducing chronic homelessness by 50%, by the 2027–28 fiscal year. The auditor’s recent report number five 'Chronic Homelessness,' sets out in devastating detail how the big bureaucracies that are responsible at the federal level, don’t carefully coordinate, cooperate, or mutually plan to implement measurable strategies. While there are significant complicating provincial and municipal aspects, it appears that at the federal level there is total disarray.

The administrators can’t evaluate and refocus what they don’t specifically measure. Within the National Housing Strategy, Infrastructure Canada spent about $1.36 billion between 2019 and 2021— about 40% of the total funding committed to the program — on preventing and reducing homelessness. However, the departments do not know whether chronic homelessness had increased or decreased as a result of their huge spending.

For its part, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation spent about $4.5 billion and committed about $9 billion but did not know who was benefiting from its initiatives. This was because the corporation did not measure the changes in housing outcomes for vulnerable groups. Also, rental housing units approved under the National Housing Co‑Investment Fund which the corporation considered affordable, were often unaffordable for low-income households.

To divert questions of accountability, CMHC said that it was not directly accountable for addressing chronic homelessness. Infrastructure Canada also sidestepped the review by saying while it contributed to reducing homelessness, it was not solely accountable for achieving the strategy’s target. The astounding conclusion of Canada’s auditor general was that despite federally established targets, there was minimal federal accountability for its achievement. Strategies were not integrated or coordinated. Without an administrative shake-up, Infrastructure Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation will not achieve the federal National Housing Strategy targets of reducing chronic homelessness.

Over-promise and under-deliver is apparently the Liberal way. The timely audit focused on whether the federal agencies prevented and reduced chronic homelessness and actually helped people obtain housing and the support needed to remain housed. The bureaucracy failed the dollar-for-value tests.

These departments did not analyze current national shelter‑use data and other measures to understand changes in the homeless population. The departments also did not have up‑to‑date and complete data on program results to determine whether program adjustments were required to better support those experiencing homelessness. People's lives are at risk, because of violence on the street and because of the weather risks. However, it is unlikely that Canada will achieve any of its publicized political promises.

Everyone can see in their local area the obvious need. Now that winter is here, the significant numbers turned away from shelters that have no space is tragic. Addressing chronic homelessness through both housing and support, such as discharge planning services for people leaving public systems (for example, health, corrections, and child welfare systems) is vital. Without sufficient housing options and the support to prevent people from experiencing homelessness, and also enabling people to transition out of temporary locations into permanent housing, it is not possible to reduce chronic homelessness.

According to Infrastructure Canada, the few communities that seemed to be somewhat successful to reduce chronic homelessness have done so in part by using data‑driven decision-making and developing a coordinated local homelessness system. These few communities have received millions in federal funding in recent years to build additional housing, and have adopted other measures to address homelessness. But after about five years, no one can say whether any of these federally funded programs are working to reduce chronic homelessness because no one wants to track it.

Coordinated leadership is needed to help communities develop targeted, evidence-based responses to address local homelessness for groups such as inner-city indigenous people, youth, and people with disabilities. Without a coordinated approach, people must navigate a complicated network of uncoordinated services, and place themselves on several waiting lists to secure the resources they need.

The rot starts at the top. Canada has thousands of responsible public employees, but they lack the political leadership required to fully deliver on their mandates. In this vacuum, the responsible agencies avoid accountability measures. Nevertheless, taxpayers expect results for the huge investments. They don’t need another Liberal Cabinet Minister boasting about how much money has been assigned to homelessness. Canadians want to see actual improvement in their communities.