The best way to understand it is to get some handle on the scale of the national dimension of the problem. According to the government's own estimates, about 1.5 million Canadian households--that's not individuals but households--are in what's called “poor housing need”. That is to say they're living in sub-standard, inadequate housing. They can't afford to pay their mortgage costs or their rents, so they're one step away from being homeless. Although the numbers are very difficult to verify, perhaps 250,000 to 300,000 Canadians will experience homelessness over the course of a year. So the numbers are quite staggering.
The housing dollars from Bill C-48 from 2005, much of which is now finally being allocated, will make an important difference because it's the single biggest chunk of money we've seen for new affordable housing in more than a decade. So we're grateful for that. But set against the scale of the need, it's simply a down payment on an urgent national problem.
Again I'd just say to the members of the committee, go anywhere in Canada, not just big cities but small towns, remote rural areas, and the boom province of Alberta, and you'll see how serious housing and homelessness really is.