Human Resources committee  That's correct. With regard to Reaching Home, we did have a homelessness policy before that, which was Housing First, but that really prioritized housing first, above and beyond the integrated wraparound services. When we look at international best practices and at working with the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness and seeing how others have actually had success at homelessness, we see that it's about making sure that communities understand and that they have coordinated access and tailored supports so that those in need can get the services they need within their communities.

Human Resources committee  Thank you for the question. It's extremely important to do what needs to be done to help the homeless. Regarding the actions taken by the government, it's important to note that the housing accelerator fund was doubled. It went from $4 billion to $6 billion. Furthermore, the government just launched the veteran homelessness program.

Human Resources committee  We'll table a plan once we have approval for the various stages, which will be made public. We're also preparing reports, for example, on the veteran homelessness program. We'll also make public our followup to the various requests and community consultations.

Human Resources committee  That is a really important area for people in need. Understanding what their needs are is a fundamental part of Reaching Home. There is a mandatory requirement called “coordinated access” that gets down to the individual level of understanding. Is it mental health? Is it addiction services?

Human Resources committee  As I mentioned, it's remained steady, given the context of the country right now with the housing crisis and the affordability issues within the country.

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much for the question. That particular audit report was done mainly during COVID times. The homeless-serving sector, during that time, did not have the capacity to report results. They were dedicated to saving lives and keeping people safe. Since that time, all of our reporting has caught up, and the metrics that I gave before for the first three years of the program have been showing tremendous results from the money that has been spent on that particular program.

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much for the question. In the Reaching Home program, what we want to do is have transparency and results. That's why I wanted to mention the Auditor General's report. Now we can report on the results. We know that more is required, and that's why we're doing research programs.

Human Resources committee  The allocations are forward looking, so in the $562 million that we're allocating for the next two years, although they're closed for new entities, we are allocating further money to those community entities to be able to address the homelessness situation in their communities.

Human Resources committee  Perhaps I'll start and then I'll turn it to my colleague, Ms. Bowers. There's very close collaboration between Infrastructure Canada and CMHC on the work of the national housing strategy and some of the work from the co-investment fund that funds shelters. In the case of encampments, Infrastructure Canada just did a survey of 72 communities across the country to better understand what the issues are.

Human Resources committee  Thank you for the question. Since that period of time, as we've been talking about the housing crisis, the context in Canada has changed significantly. At this point, chronic homelessness for the last number of years has remained steady at approximately 30,000 people.

Human Resources committee  I can look into it with Ontario. We are in active negotiations with Ontario and Toronto. We don't have signed contribution agreements with them just yet on those subway lines. There was a term sheet announced that you're referring to. As they're progressing and as there's further development, we're looking at working with them on contribution agreements and commitments regarding affordable housing.

Human Resources committee  It's a term sheet that was agreed to and not a formal contribution agreement.

Human Resources committee  Correct.

Human Resources committee  I believe it's the extent to which it would be feasible. In looking at the type of development, it's how much it would be feasible within that particular development to make it financially viable to proceed. That is the discussion between Ontario and Toronto that is active at this time.

Human Resources committee  When we look at our previous programming versus our new programming in our permanent public transit, yes, we will. We're actually consulting on the methodology right now and on what the requirements are. When we used this particular program, it was part of our Investing in Canada program, as well as bridge financing between the Investing in Canada program—