Evidence of meeting #49 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was housing.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Veterans Emergency Transition Services
The next steps basically were to follow this process to allow you folks to do this study. That would be step one.
Liberal
Pauline Rochefort Liberal Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON
The outcomes of this committee's discussions and the recommendations brought forward will be of interest as you move forward in examining the Amherst property. Would that be correct?
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Veterans Emergency Transition Services
Yes.
Liberal
Pauline Rochefort Liberal Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON
In our documentation, the analyst brought forward a point that I found interesting. I want to try to understand. I always like to see, from a historical perspective, what has worked for Canada. I'll read what they wrote, and I'd be interested in both your points of view:
For centuries, the Canadian government helped settle ex-soldiers on the land by encouraging veterans to settle farms or small commercial holdings and build their own housing. The World War II-era Veterans’ Land Act allowed for provision of loans and direct sales of land, including “granted or ungranted federal land.”
To the extent you are aware, why is this no longer the government's preferred approach to a veteran's transition into civilian life?
President, Homes For Heroes Foundation
I'm not sure why we wouldn't go down that path. I think we need to lean on proven models. Both VETS Canada and Homes For Heroes have proven models. There are other models out there, but maybe bureaucracy gets in the way. We had less bureaucracy 50, 60 or 100 years ago, and now we have too many middle managers in the way of getting work done.
Liberal
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Veterans Emergency Transition Services
No.
I 100% agree that it seems bureaucracy has become more cumbersome over time. To be honest, I feel as though veterans are not prioritized.
Liberal
Pauline Rochefort Liberal Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON
Amongst ourselves, we nodded when you said those who protect our homes should never be without one. I thought that was a good point.
To your point, Mr. Field, it would be interesting to examine the lessons. There must be studies that have looked at the various models, what has worked and what hasn't worked, and what the government learned about the sale of federal land directly to veterans. This might be interesting to consider as well.
As we examine different models and different approaches, I think that overall perspective might be interesting in our study as well.
September 22nd, 2026 / 12:40 p.m.
President, Homes For Heroes Foundation
I appreciate all insight and so forth, but I'll only speak for myself. If I have to do another study on behalf of the government to prove that our model works—
Liberal
Pauline Rochefort Liberal Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON
As part of this report, as we examine it, it would be interesting to have that perspective.
President, Homes For Heroes Foundation
Oh, it would not be for me to do research.
President, Homes For Heroes Foundation
Oh, thank God.
I'd have to do some reading on it and understand it better. I know what works in this day and age, but I can't speak to any details around that.
Liberal
Pauline Rochefort Liberal Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON
As for your point, how could surplus federal properties then be used to make home ownership more accessible to veterans?
President, Homes For Heroes Foundation
It's not a model that we're considering at this point, but if surplus land were available for sale or for a nominal amount of money to a veteran to provide housing or to build their own property, I would be in full support of that.
Obviously, ours is a program that happens to have a home attached to it, so we believe that providing just a roof and four walls is not a solution. Until you have wraparound support services, you're not solving the inherent issue at hand of why they were homeless to begin with. We believe the shelter has to be in conjunction with full wraparound services; otherwise, you're not solving the base issue.
Liberal
Pauline Rochefort Liberal Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON
Do you believe in purpose-built rental housing as well?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kelly McCauley
I'm sorry. We're past our time, unless it's a really quick question.
Liberal
Pauline Rochefort Liberal Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON
Yes, it's on the opportunity for purpose-built rental housing as a solution.
Bloc
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Lowther, your message was clear. Throughout my career, I've worked with community organizations. The hardest thing to accept is the heavy reporting requirements when you're struggling to provide services to people who need them. I can tell you the hardest part. When you look at the scale, the more zeros you see in the contract amounts, the fewer the reporting requirements.
Your message today is crucial. At some point, can we channel the funds and trust the people who are actually providing the services? Everyone is navel‑gazing. People talk about cutting back and then making decisions.
As we saw earlier, Veterans Affairs Canada and Public Services and Procurement Canada don't have any officially mandated meetings. They're waiting for our report before taking action. Yet one person is dying every week right now.
I'm no longer a member of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs. However, I truly hope that you will pursue your efforts. My heart goes out to the veterans who, unfortunately, don't have the services or must wait for months.
Since I still have one minute left, I would like to give you the floor. What's your number one wish when it comes to choosing a building in this situation? What information do you need to provide to the government officials when they're making choices?
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Veterans Emergency Transition Services
I would hope that they make the choice quickly in the interest of time. We have veterans living without a roof over their heads. Decisions that could be made quickly would be appreciated.
Bloc
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
If you have any additional information, it will help us prepare a report. Clearly, the government officials need your input. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.