Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleagues on all their hard work to spark a debate on homelessness and give a voice to the most vulnerable in our society who really need our support.
For too long now, for the past 25 years in fact, we have been simply putting off the important conversation we need to have about this problem, which is symptomatic of all the ills of our society. Homelessness tends to affect people who are already struggling, unwell, or in distress, but through a reversal of fortune it can affect any one of us.
I therefore support Motion No. 147 from my colleague from Saskatoon West, which proposes creating a special committee to conduct hearings on homelessness and to propose a national plan to prevent and end homelessness. Its objective is ambitious, certainly, but it is nevertheless realistic, because we know that local communities, in Alberta for example, have already taken up the challenge and are working hard to meet it.
The national housing strategy tells us that the government is ready to tackle homelessness across Canada. Unfortunately, 90% of the funding announced will not be delivered until after 2019. What is the government going to do to help homeless people over the next two years? No one knows.
No single solution is going to end homelessness across the country. At the local level, plans to achieve that goal will vary from one region to the next. The government needs to act and show genuine political will to follow the recommendations of local groups to put an end to the scourge of homelessness. That is why the federal government needs to clearly define its role in its own national plan. Accordingly, creating a committee to study these matters seems entirely appropriate.
Indeed, homelessness is a manifestation of many of society's ills. Homelessness can be temporary or chronic. According to a report by Homeless Hub, the first homelessness experience occurs before the age of 16 in 40.1% of cases. That is a very young age to end up on the street. In Canada, 20% of homeless people are between the ages of 13 and 24. They are particularly vulnerable since they are often the product of broken homes, and public institutions, their schools included, have given up on them.
People do not choose to become homeless. Losing one's job or home, separation or divorce, bereavement, incarceration and disease are all conducive to isolation, alienation and distress, all of which potentially lead to homelessness. Living on the street turns people into targets for sexual, mental and physical violence. It means not having access to hot meals or proper hygiene, and possibly having to live with addictions. For all those reasons, getting out of homelessness can be an impossible task in the eyes of these young people.
Furthermore, women are often invisible to those seeking to help them. Violence and invisibility are intrinsic characteristics homelessness among women. Violence often occurs before and after becoming homeless and it places women in an extremely vulnerable position. Indeed, while some factors contributing to homelessness are the same for women and men, women often have a long history of being submitted to violence, from sexual assault to psychological, physical and domestic violence. To avoid becoming homeless, some women use survival strategies such as prostitution, theft, going from one shelter to another or from a friend or acquaintance's place to another. They become less visible and the risk for their health, security and integrity increases. They sink even deeper into isolation.
This hidden homelessness masks the magnitude of the problem among women, even though this problem is growing across the country. In fact, homelessness among women is a tangible phenomenon in my riding of Salaberry—Suroît. Fortunately, organizations such as Justice alternative, Les ateliers Cré-Action du Suroît et L'antichambre 12-17 offer services for young women grappling with delinquency, vulnerability, or homelessness.
What is more, homelessness has skyrocketed among our indigenous sisters for the past several years in Canada. In their case, homelessness must be considered by taking into account the effects of colonization on Inuit, first nations and Metis communities. According to Amnesty International, indigenous women are the most vulnerable group in the country. They are seven times more likely to be victims of homicide than non-indigenous women. Also, according to the Table des groupes de femmes de Montréal, indigenous women make very little use of resources that are not specifically intended for them.
Resources must be tailored to the particular needs of these women. This is something we have reiterated several times in the House, but unfortunately nothing has changed in regard to the well-being of all these women.
Homelessness costs $7 billion a year, which is the equivalent of one and a half Champlain bridges. The cost is enormous for rural and local communities. My riding of Salaberry—Suroît is barely one and a half hours' drive from Montreal, but it is in the Bermuda Triangle as far as public money is concerned. Being close to Montreal and to the U.S. border, my riding and neighbouring ridings receive many homeless people. Unfortunately, community organizations are desperately short of funding.
Montreal and its inner suburbs receive most of the funding, whereas Montérégie-Ouest is close to the city but does not get any of the money intended for Montreal. At the same time, it is not far enough to get its own funding.
That is why I have a profound respect for organizations in my riding who work very hard with little means. Pacte de rue receives many people in distress, but does not have enough room, and the same is true of L'antichambre 12-17. Housing committees have repeatedly requested better support and affordable housing. Unfortunately, governments rarely listen.
I should point out that an estimated 235,000 people at least experience homelessness in any given year in Canada. Ignoring homelessness rather than solving the problem is costing the Canadian economy dearly. Homelessness actually costs the public treasury nearly $4.5 billion per year. Let me quickly compare that to how much it would cost to help homeless people. A hospital bed currently costs close to $11,000 per month. A housing subsidy, in contrast, costs $700 per month, and social housing just $200 per month. I think the math on that is pretty straightforward. Solving homelessness costs a lot less.
The country needs a plan. A special committee would be able to investigate, deliberate, and decide what constitutes success. Once it has done that, it can set relevant targets and benchmarks and assess them. A committee would bring many different voices to the table and, I hope, result in consensus on how to proceed.
The government boasts about being transparent and open to new ideas and about improving its relationship with Parliament. Canadians expect all members of the House to work together. Motion No. 147 is my colleague from Saskatoon West's way of reaching out. Will cabinet accept? Will this be a free vote for Liberal MPs?
The federal government must allow parliamentarians to talk to the communities, the front line workers, not-for-profit agencies, academics, indigenous groups, and young people in order to develop a plan, pool resources, and ensure accountability.
In closing, the role of Parliament is to listen to citizens, experts, and agencies and to make progress on issues that have been put on the back burner. It is imperative to help the homeless, who are often young and mostly women, to overcome their personal demons. We have to find lasting solutions to reintegrate them into our society in an honourable fashion. It is our duty as elected members to do that. The very basis of our mandate is to represent the public.
We are all equally responsible for dealing with this issue whether we are ministers, parliamentary secretaries, or MPs. We are all citizens and we all have homelessness problems in every one of our ridings. Every riding office is affected.
I hope that every member of the House will reach out to the hon. member for Saskatoon West and become actively involved in forming a special committee that can focus exclusively on homelessness to find solutions and develop a specific plan to address homelessness in Canada. I hope that we can all reach out to indigenous peoples as well, so that we might have solutions for the entire population and all peoples of Canada.