Madam Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to Motion No. 147, which was moved by my colleague from Saskatoon West.
The motivation behind this motion is to reduce or, if possible, end homelessness. We must applaud this motion.
However, I would like to point out that Motion No. 147 calls for a new series of consultations. More specifically, Motion No. 147 calls for the appointment of a special parliamentary committee to hold hearings on the matter of homelessness.
Our government recognizes that homelessness is a reality for too many Canadians and a challenge for all Canadian communities. That is why we have undertaken significant outreach and consultation efforts to guide the development of strategies for preventing and reducing homelessness. Over the past two years, we have consulted the Canadian public, stakeholders, and partners to support the national housing strategy, the renewal of the homelessness partnering strategy, and the poverty reduction strategy.
If I may, I would like to go over what we have accomplished so far.
I am proud to say that on, November 22, we announced the launch of the national housing strategy. This strategy will create opportunities for collaboration and promote innovation through increased partnerships between the federal, provincial and territorial governments, municipalities, community housing organizations, non-profit organizations, the co-operative sector and the private sector and will bring about real change for Canadians.
A national dialogue on housing was launched in late June 2016 after a fruitful meeting of federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for housing. Led by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the “Let's Talk Housing” consultations spanned four months.
Throughout 2016, as part of the national conversation on housing, we engaged with Canadians, major stakeholders and provincial and territorial authorities to get their input.
More than 6,300 Canadians took the time to fill out the survey on the national housing strategy. Over 130 ideas were submitted through the group sharing platform and more than 475 proposals were submitted online by individuals and organizations, including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the National Housing Collaborative.
Events included the following: bilateral meetings with provinces and territories; a three-day national round table with experts consisting of 18 meetings on a variety of subjects, including an entire day of discussions on homelessness; a national meeting with stakeholders from across the housing spectrum, from homelessness to the housing market, aimed at validating the input received; meetings with national indigenous organizations on housing and homelessness; additional round tables with experts held across Canada; 21 focus groups involving marginalized populations, including people who had experienced homelessness, low-income families, indigenous people living off reserve, seniors, people with disabilities and newcomers.
These events generated a series of recommendations on strengthening the federal government's response to homelessness. For example, participants recommended that the homelessness partnering strategy be renewed and expanded, and that the “housing first” approach of the program be more flexible and adaptive.
In short, the message was clear. Canadians want improved housing conditions, especially for those who need it most.
The homelessness partnering strategy was also part of the consultations. Budget 2017 includes a total investment of $2.1 billion under the national housing strategy to increase funding for the homelessness partnering strategy. We have also committed to work with stakeholders, provinces and territories, and indigenous organizations to revamp the program to better reduce and prevent homelessness.
To that end, we created the Advisory Committee on Homelessness, chaired by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development for Housing and Urban Affairs. It includes members who are not from government and who have in-depth knowledge of homelessness issues.
To support the committee's work, Employment and Social Development Canada held online consultations from July 17 to September 15, 2017. The committee also held a series of regional round tables across the country with stakeholders, service providers, and indigenous partners. Many members of Parliament also took part in these round tables.
The feedback received by committee members during the consultations will inform the options they will submit on the renewal of the homelessness partnering strategy. A report on the feedback received is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
We all know that poverty and homelessness are closely intertwined, as the one can often lead to the other. Let us talk about poverty reduction. Again, everyone in the House already knows that we are developing a poverty reduction strategy. We have made major public engagement efforts on this file. From February to September 2017, we held Canada-wide consultations to discuss key issues related to poverty.
Online consultations and round tables were also held with indigenous groups, businesses, community organizations, academic experts, and Canadians who have lived in poverty. The relationship between homelessness, affordable housing, and poverty came up many times.
We also completed the tackling poverty together project, which involved conducting case studies in six communities across Canada that had expressed interest in poverty reduction.
This project highlighted the local benefits of federal poverty reduction programs, based on citizens' opinions, especially people who have lived in poverty. The report on the tackling poverty together project was released on September 18 during the national poverty conference.
As if that were not enough, our government created a ministerial advisory committee on poverty that includes leaders, academic experts, and practitioners working in the field of poverty reduction, as well as individuals who have experienced poverty first-hand. In addition, the two-day national poverty conference brought together academics, stakeholders, researchers, front-line service providers, individuals who have lived in poverty, and members of the advisory committee on poverty.
The goal of the conference was to discuss the feedback received from Canadians during the consultation process. On top of all that, there is also the ongoing study on poverty reduction measures, including housing and homelessness initiatives, being conducted by the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.
Our wide-ranging engagement activities with Canadians will guide the development of a poverty reduction strategy that will align with and support existing provincial and municipal poverty reduction strategies. It will also support the renewal and expansion of the homelessness partnering strategy.
As I said at the outset, we should applaud the motivation behind Motion No. 147. Obviously, ending homelessness is a priority for all parties.
I thank the hon. member for Saskatoon West for her commitment to this important issue.