Question Period - National Housing Strategy
Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
Senator Gold, on May 18 and May 19, Canada underwent a review by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. During the review, Canada was asked about what it is doing to protect children from homelessness and housing insecurity. In response, our delegation spoke about the National Housing Strategy. However, stakeholders such as UNICEF and the Women’s National Housing & Homelessness Network have pointed to concerning gaps that exist within this program. Specifically, the National Housing Strategy has a target of 25% of its resources to be designated for women and children, a target that is perplexing as it is seen to be out of sync with the demonstrated data that we already have, data that has established that women, gender-diverse people and children make up a larger portion than 25%.
My question is this: What equity targets are embedded in the National Housing Strategy to ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to protect children experiencing eviction and homelessness in Canada? Can you share the details of how these targets are being monitored?
Thank you. It is an important question on an important issue. I don’t have the answer, but I will seek to get it and share it with the chamber as soon as I can.
This government, more than any other government, dare I say, is committed to addressing the gaps and the inequalities that we have come to recognize plague our country with regard to those — whether women, Indigenous communities, children and others — who find themselves in vulnerable positions. The government will continue to use its efforts to redress these inequalities in this area as in others.
I’m wondering, Senator Gold, does the government have a plan to review targets and measures for significant social policies as they move forward in making progress on revamping our data collection processes?
Again, senator, I cannot give you the specific answer to your question. As this chamber will know, this government has taken major steps to disaggregate data and ensure that the impact of programs — we saw this in the context of the pandemic — that it goes beyond that and to understand the real-world and disparate impacts that will inevitably be the case to some degree in the implementation of social programs. Again, I will seek the answers to your question and endeavour to have an answer as quickly as I can.
Delayed Answers, Provided on May 18th, 2023
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation:
In Canada, eviction and rent control regulations fall under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, and therefore the National Housing Strategy (NHS) does not have specific eviction targets.
A foundational principle of the NHS is to address the housing needs of the most vulnerable, including those experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The NHS commits to reducing chronic homelessness by 50% by 2027-28, a target that is supported by Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy. Furthermore, a minimum 25% of NHS investments will support the unique needs of women and their children. As of December 31, 2021, an estimated $7.1 billion has been committed toward meeting the housing needs of this group. This represents over 28% of all NHS funding committed.
The complementary initiatives of the NHS address needs across the housing continuum, including for the most vulnerable Canadians. This includes direct affordability support to low-income households through the Canada Housing Benefit (CHB) and rental assistance for low-income households living in community housing. The NHS also includes programs to increase the supply of affordable housing such as the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) which quickly builds permanent affordable housing units to address the urgent housing needs of vulnerable Canadians.
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Employment and Social Development Canada:
The Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS), a horizontal Government of Canada initiative led by ESDC in collaboration with 11 other federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations, helps young people (ages 15-30) develop their skills and transition into the labour market.
The Housing Internship Initiative for Indigenous Youth, a YESS program delivered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, served over 330 Indigenous youth in 2021, providing housing-related internships, work experiences and on-the-job training.
Currently, one of the performance indicators for the YESS is the percentage of youth served from each of the following groups who are facing barriers to employment: Indigenous youth, youth with disabilities, and visible minority youth. Starting in 2023-24, YESS programs will begin to improve data disaggregation of under-represented youth being served and the socio-economic barriers they may face.
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Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada:
Statistics Canada produces the Market Basket Measure (MBM), which establishes poverty thresholds that can be used to report on progress against some of the federal government’s social policy objectives. The MBM provides contextual information by shedding light on the characteristics of economically challenged populations who may be at risk of evictions and homelessness. Poverty reduction targets are set by Employment and Social Development Canada.
The MBM thresholds are based on the cost of a basket of goods and services, which represents a modest, basic standard of living for a reference family. Those with incomes less than their applicable thresholds, given family size and region of residence, are deemed to be in poverty. To account for potential regional differences in the cost of living, Statistics Canada publishes MBM thresholds for 53 regions across Canada (https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110006601).
The thresholds are updated yearly to take into account inflation. To account for changes regarding what represents a modest, basic standard of living over time, the Poverty Reduction Act mandates that Statistics Canada undertake a review of the MBM basket and methods every five years.
Statistics Canada completed the most recent adjustments to poverty measurement in 2020 and will be launching the next review in 2023.