Members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear here today. I'm the president and CEO of Homes For Heroes Foundation. Our mission is simple: to help end veteran homelessness in Canada.
However, I'm here today to speak about something larger, which is the opportunity created by motion number 16 and what Canada can do with federal assets it already owns. Motion 16 asks this committee to examine how underused and surplus federal lands and buildings could be put to work serving veterans and strengthening communities. I would suggest that this is not simply a question about surplus real estate. It is a question about what Canada chooses to do with assets it already owns.
Across Canada there are federal properties that are vacant, underused or approaching the end of their current purpose. At the same time, veterans are struggling with affordable housing, access to services, employment and successful transitions to civilian life. These two realities should not exist independently of one another.
At Homes For Heroes, we have seen what happens when housing is combined with community and meaningful support. Our approach is not simply to provide a roof. We provide veterans with a home, a community and wraparound supports that help them address the challenges contributing to housing instability and help them rebuild their lives. We have learned something very important: Housing is the platform, while community is the catalyst and support makes the transition sustainable.
We believe that federal land and buildings can provide the platform on a much larger scale. We're not suggesting that every surplus federal property become a veterans village. We are suggesting that the federal government establish a deliberate, repeatable framework for identifying suitable properties and matching them with qualified organizations capable of serving veterans. Imagine a formal federal facility becoming a place where veterans can live, access services, pursue employment and training, connect with other veterans and become a part of the surrounding community. This is the opportunity before this committee. It is an opportunity that can bring together the federal government, provinces, municipalities, indigenous communities, veteran organizations, housing providers and private sector partners.
There is also a strong economic argument. We should not view this solely as a government expenditure. We should view it as an investment in people and communities by using assets it already owns. The land has value and the building has value, but when we combine those assets with housing, services, employment pathways and community partnerships, we create something far more valuable: the opportunity for a veteran to regain stability, independence and purpose.
This is also an opportunity to be proactive. Canada is investing significantly in our armed forces, and the veteran population will continue to evolve. We should not wait until a veteran is homeless before asking where the veteran can go. We should build infrastructure, partnerships and pathways before this crisis occurs.
My recommendation to this committee is straightforward. I encourage you to examine the creation of a federal veteran community asset strategy, a framework through which surplus and underused federal properties can be identified, evaluated and made available for veteran-serving purposes when there are demonstrated need and a qualified operating partner. The framework should consider the location and suitability of federal properties, the housing and service needs of veterans in the surrounding community, partnerships with organizations with demonstrated veteran-serving experience, sustainable operating and funding models, and measurable outcomes and accountability for Canadians. Homes For Heroes would welcome the opportunity to contribute our experience to that work.
Ending veteran homelessness will not be accomplished by one organization, one government or one program. It requires partnership, innovation and the willingness to see an old problem through a new lens.
Members of the committee, Canada asked these men and women to serve. Our responsibility does not end when their military service ends. If Canada owns the land, if Canada owns these buildings and if Canadians need housing and services, then we have an obligation to ask, “How can these assets serve Canadians who served us?”
Motion 16 gives us the opportunity to begin answering this question, so I encourage this community to be ambitious. Do not simply study the surplus federal property; study what those properties could become. They could become homes. They could become communities. They could become centres of service, transition and opportunity. Ultimately, they could become places where veterans rebuild their lives and where they once again become an integral part of communities they served to protect.
Thank you, members of the committee. I look forward to your questions.