Madam Speaker, I am happy to rise today to be part of the discussion on Motion No. 147.
I also want to thank the member for Saskatoon West for bringing this vital issue of combatting homelessness to the attention of the House, as it is an issue that we all hear about in ridings right across this country.
I also want to take this opportunity to look back at what our government has been doing over the past two years to prevent and reduce homelessness in Canada and to look forward at what we will be doing in the future.
In particular, I want to talk today about the national housing strategy that our government unveiled earlier this week. Bringing the NHS to life has been a priority for this government for the past 18 months. We launched a national conversation on housing in June 2016, followed by a very successful meeting of federal, provincial, and territorial ministers responsible for housing. Led by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, our "Let's Talk Housing" consultations unfolded over four months.
Some key themes emerged during this time. We heard that Canadians and housing stakeholders believe that a national housing strategy should encompass the entire housing continuum while prioritizing those in greatest need.
We heard that there was a need to better integrate housing with other support services vulnerable people may need. Housing providers needed better access to capital to facilitate the development of more affordable housing, and there was strong preference for policies that enabled local communities to drive solutions to housing problems. Of particular relevance to today's debate, we heard that Canadians wanted a national housing strategy that truly addressed homelessness in Canada.
Similar themes emerged in the consultations carried out by our advisory committee on homelessness. Chaired by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development this advisory committee brought together housing and homelessness experts, local and regional service providers, and individuals with a lived experience of homelessness. Selected from hundreds of nominations, the 13 members of this advisory committee represent Canada's regional, cultural, and linguistic diversity.
The advisory committee held a series of regional round tables across the country with stakeholders, service providers, and indigenous partners, in which they explored in greater depth the ideas and the recommendations we heard throughout the national housing strategy engagement process. They also undertook targeted engagement with homelessness experts and with communities and other stakeholders from across Canada. I am pleased to say that several members of Parliament attended these round tables and saw first-hand the work being done by this exceptional group of people.
I will also note that the advisory committee's work was augmented by an online feedback tool hosted by Employment and Social Development Canada, which was available from July 17 to September 15, 2017.
I am sure I speak for everyone in the House when I say that I am looking forward to the committee's “What We Heard” report, which is expected to be publicly released in spring 2018.
Even without that report I can say that the people who participated in our consultations did not just identify problems, they also identified opportunities for innovation and proposed solutions that focus on measurable outcomes. All of this information and insight was invaluable as our government sought to create a national housing strategy that signalled a meaningful re-engagement by the federal government in housing.
Make no mistake. If ever there was a time for meaningful re-engagement, it is now. For too many Canadian families, a decent home is simply not affordable. Across Canada, 1.7 million families are in housing need, living in homes that are inadequate or unaffordable. Another 25,000 Canadians are chronically homeless.
On top of this, many groups, including seniors, indigenous peoples, women fleeing domestic violence, people with disabilities, refugees, veterans, and those with mental health and addiction challenges continue to face significant barriers in accessing and maintaining affordable housing.
Even before the national housing strategy, our government had signalled that we understood the need for an active federal government in addressing housing needs across Canada. That is why we made unprecedented housing investments in budgets 2016 and 2017.
The national housing strategy, however, takes our commitment even further. It is an ambitious $40-billion plan to help ensure that Canadians have access to housing that meets their needs and that they can afford. It is a key element of our government's plan to help grow and strengthen the middle class, promote inclusive growth for Canadians, and lift more Canadians out of poverty.
It includes clear goals, such as removing 530,000 Canadian families from housing need, and reducing chronic and episodic homelessness by half over the next decade. It will meet the needs of vulnerable populations and will be central to our effort to ensure that all Canadians have the safe and affordable housing they need and deserve.
What does the national housing strategy mean for Canada's homeless? For starters, we will be investing $2.2 billion over 10 years to tackle homelessness through a redesigned and expanded federal homelessness program. Thanks to this investment, we will reduce chronic homelessness by 50%. Just as importantly, we will empower local communities to deliver a combination of housing programs and responsive and preventive measures.
Our redesigned homelessness program will launch on April 1, 2019, following the conclusion of the current homelessness partnering strategy, and it will be based on the work currently being done by the advisory committee on homelessness.
Our government also recognizes that homelessness is not an issue that exists in isolation. If we want to help vulnerable populations, we need to think of housing in a more holistic way. That is precisely what the NHS does, with complementary initiatives that reaffirm and redesign the federal response to homelessness. This includes a program like the Canada housing benefit, a jointly funded $4 billion program that will provide affordability support directly to families and individuals in housing need, including people currently living in social housing, people on social housing wait lists, and people housed in the private market but struggling to make ends meet.
We anticipate that after it launches in 2020, the Canada housing benefit will deliver an average of $2,500 per year to each recipient household, and will support at least 300,000 households across the country. It also includes the $15.9 billion federally managed national housing co-investment fund. This fund will ensure that existing rental housing is not lost to disrepair, and will help to develop new, high-performing affordable housing integrated with supports and services.
The national housing co-investment fund is expected to create or repair up to 300,000 new or existing housing units, and also support more shelter spaces for survivors of family violence, transitional and supportive housing, new and renewed affordable and community housing, and ways of making home ownership more affordable.
The national housing strategy marks the beginning of a new era for housing in Canada. Our government is making historic investments in housing and planning for transformational change because we understand the value of home. Safe, affordable housing is a launch pad for better socio-economic outcomes for our citizens, a more inclusive society where everyone has the opportunity to be well and to succeed, a stronger economy, and a cleaner environment.
For the NHS to be successful, we will need the collaboration and commitment of more partners than ever before, in a coherent, integrated, and whole-of-government approach. We will be working with the provinces and territories, with municipalities, with the private and not-for-profit sectors, and with everyone who shares our goal of creating a new generation of housing in Canada.
While much, if not all, of what Motion No. 147 is calling for has already been done by our government, we are nevertheless pleased when our colleagues, across all party lines, embrace our shared priorities. I would encourage the member for Saskatoon West, as well as all members from all parties and all parts of the country, to become part of the government's nation-wide efforts to ensure that all Canadians have the safe and affordable housing they need and deserve.