Cities press Liberals on homelessness

Municipalities urge Ottawa to revamp, simplify strategy

OTTAWA — Cities struggling to house their homeless are asking the federal Liberals to rethink the government’s cornerstone homelessness program amid concerns about burdensome reporting requirements and inadequate funding models.

The details outlined in an internal government report point to the need for the Homelessness Partnering Strategy to provide different levels of funding to rural communities that have to house people over vast areas and to urban centres that are hampered in their affordable housing efforts by skyrocketing real estate prices.

The issue of administrative burdens related to the funding also came up repeatedly in the meetings last year, detailed in a briefing note to a senior official at Employment and Social Development Canada.

Cities asked the government to simplify reporting requirements about how money was used or to provide extra cash to cover administrative costs, officials write in the report obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

The homelessness strategy isn’t up for renewal until 2019, but Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos has asked officials to begin work now in order to have it ready sooner, said spokesperson Mathieu Filion.

Those in the anti-poverty sector expect funding will stay the same under the revamped strategy, which will likely emphasize prevention, something experts have promoted during the Liberals’ time in office.