It is a tricky spot, and I can't tell you how many times since I've been elected that I've been asked by my own municipality if Shelter House will now get core federal funding. In fact, the answer is sadly no, because we're not in the business of providing operational funding to programs on the ground. The federal government is there to prevent the need for these kinds of organizations long term. The investments that we're making are much more structural than that.
Of course, there are always program funds through various different projects or proposals, but the sustainable funding is always a challenge. I would say the answer is that we need to work very closely with our provincial and territorial partners on things that lead to outcomes that will alleviate the need for things like homeless shelters, for example.
It's not the answer that oftentimes people are wanting to hear, but the honest answer is that if we were to provide operational funding for every single not-for-profit organization that's underfunded, that's all we'd be doing. Our mandate is making sure that those structures and systems are healthy and well, and are supporting people to live in a way that reduces the need on some of the NGOs that exist at the community level. That's not to say that their work isn't incredibly valuable.