Evidence of meeting #101 for Veterans Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was homelessness.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Phil McColeman Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
It's quite exciting for me to hear that. I have been to the Ottawa home builders' awards nights over the years and right across the province, and I don't think any project like that has ever won an award from that organization.
Nonetheless, you also mentioned that you're using the ODSP rent threshold as your threshold. Why have you chosen that?
Executive Director, Multifaith Housing Initiative
We made an assumption that they're not going to get any other kind of support. This was what we could get them. There will be some who may go as low as Ontario Works, in which case we will have to be doing some fundraising to make up the shortfall between them and the others. We just made an assumption that there is going to be no one who is.... We're taking them off the streets. They're not going to be working when they first come. We're going to have to help connect them to their benefits.
VAC may have some programs by then that have been developed and that will help them. We don't know that. We don't know what it will look like. We don't who it will include and who it will exclude. Therefore, we have taken kind of a rock-bottom approach.
Conservative
Phil McColeman Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
For the benefit of the other committee members, ODSP is the Ontario disability support program. It supports individuals who qualify, and they are largely the disabled community. It supports them in their adult life, helping them to achieve some modest level of subsistence in the community. For most individuals, it rarely exceeds $12,000 a year, with all the rent and the other supports you need. It gives you an idea of the lifestyle of adults with disabilities and the challenges they have to deal with when they don't have other supports around them. Therefore, it surprises me that you use that.
I was also surprised, when the question was asked, I think by Mr. Johns, about your operating expenses—you've laid them out, no doubt, in a business plan or in your proposals—that you are able to exist as a non-profit and break even every year at those rent levels.
When you present this to the people who evaluate you for qualifying or not qualifying for funding, is this something that you run into problems with?
Executive Director, Multifaith Housing Initiative
No, we haven't. It's quite sound. We're building this project to what's called “passive house” standards, which is a very high level of environmental efficiency so that our operating costs are quite low. We're putting the money in the capital up front rather than in long-term operating. We have a lot of volunteer bases. We are a registered charity, and today I was informed that we have received our tax exemption on this project, so we won't be paying property taxes on it.
These different things that we are able to layer together allow us to operate with a small amount of income. Also, the Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Command is picking up the tab for the official mental health supports.
Conservative
Phil McColeman Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
Kudos to you, frankly. That's an amazing model. Thank you for doing it.
Liberal
Liberal
New Brunswick Southwest, Lib.
I'd like to thank all of you for your testimony. It was absolutely fascinating and really inspiring.
Ms. Le, you mentioned your facility. We heard from a previous witness that there is a disproportionate number of young women under the age of 25 in comparison to the actual composition of the Canadian Forces. Do you see that with the veterans you're helping out?
Executive Director, Multifaith Housing Initiative
The number we're getting back shows that about 5% of the homeless veterans are female. Now, that's not a really good official account. We have been doing some deeper research on it to try to get some better understanding.
That said, the 40 units of our project Veterans' House being built are 40 independent self-sustaining units with a lot of common space. We can take from both sexes, then. It's not an issue.
New Brunswick Southwest, Lib.
I'm also pleased to hear you mention the common space, because Mr. Stanfield said that at his house one thing they don't have is a common space.
Executive Director, Multifaith Housing Initiative
We did a plan-of-care charette, into which we put all of our designs for the common areas, the outside. We had a lot of different groups come in, a lot of different military groups, and they fed into that the things they would want to see, including the PTSD service dog unit. Then we went back and redesigned the whole space to really meet their needs.
It's one of the things that are really beautiful about this project. It's been designed very specifically for this population, to their needs, recognizing the uniqueness of the veteran population.
New Brunswick Southwest, Lib.
That's fantastic. I actually think it's a model for so many other housing projects.
Gentlemen, I have a couple of questions for you, particularly around the trades.
In the work I've done through post-secondary education, I've actually done a lot of work with the Canadian Forces over the years.
I'm wondering whether there are specific trades that are not being recognized by the civilian groups, for which maybe there's an opportunity to work with the Department of National Defence on the training side of it so that the designations are actually recognized.
Vice-President, Royal Canadian Naval Benevolent Fund
I'll speak to that from a naval perspective.
The work in the navy, even over the span of our career, has changed dramatically from very manual types of activities to very technical, highly skilled tasks, which in turn require highly trained, very skilled, technically capable sailors to make that warship or submarine function in the way it's supposed to.
You're talking about highly trained electronics technicians, highly trained marine engineering professionals, high-voltage electrics and thermodynamics. There are operators who run the computer systems on board those ships, and of course there are others, such as the administration clerks and the cooks. Food is very important. They're trained professionals as well.
It's something that we've heard consistently throughout our careers, that those qualifications and skills should be and need to be recognized, not only at sea in service to Canada but also on civvy street when your service to Canada is over, as true credentials to carry forward into a second career.
New Brunswick Southwest, Lib.
I agree. I think it's an important return on federal investment as well. That prior learning recognition should be part of the credentialling, because at some point there's going to be that transition to the outside.
I have one last question for you. Right now you're not receiving any federal funding. Have you applied?
President, Royal Canadian Naval Benevolent Fund
Is there a fund that we can apply to?
President, Royal Canadian Naval Benevolent Fund
Thank you.
Can I answer the question that you asked Suzanne?
Most of our clients in terms of homelessness are young males, but we have a huge client base of older widows who can't buy teeth, eyeglasses or hearing aids because their pension is so small that they can't afford those kinds of things. We still have lots of widows in their nineties who require assistance. It's not homelessness, but they still require assistance.
New Brunswick Southwest, Lib.
Thank you for sharing that.
Doug, is there time?
