Community and Protective Services Committee
Comité des services
communautaires et de protection
and Council / et au
Conseil
28 June 2010 / le 28 juin 2010
Submitted by/Soumis par : Health and Social Services Advisory Committee
Comité consultatif sur la santé et les services sociaux
Contact
Person/Personne ressource : Melinda Aston, A/Advisory Committee Coordinator/
Coordonnatrice intérimaire des
Comités consultatifs
City Clerk and Solicitor / Greffier
et Chef du contentieux
(613) 580-2424 ext / poste : 21838 Melinda.Aston@ottawa.ca
The Health and Social Services Advisory Committee recommends that the
Community and Protective Services Committee recommend Council to support, in
principle, Bill C-304.
Le Comité consultatif
sur la santé et les services sociaux recommande au Comité des services
communautaires et de protection de recommander au Conseil municipal d’accorder
son appui, en principe, au Projet de loi C-304.
At its 22 June 2010 meeting, the Health and
Social Services Advisory Committee (HSSAC) received a PowerPoint presentation
from the Chair outlining the importance of having a National Housing Strategy.
The Health and Social Services Advisory Committee approved the following motion:
WHEREAS Homelessness and
Affordable Housing are inseparably linked to poverty; and
WHEREAS the City of Ottawa’s
Poverty Reduction Strategy is in keeping with the City’s Strategic Plan,
including municipal housing strategies; and
WHEREAS 7,445 individuals in
Ottawa stayed in emergency shelters in 2009; and
WHEREAS there are 10,235
households on the Social Housing registry wait list; and
WHEREAS Ontario Works and Ontario
Disability Support program baseline funding for housing did not keep pace with
rising cost of rental accommodations in the Ottawa housing market; and
WHEREAS the United Nation’s
Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing recommended re-establishing
a National Housing Plan in Canada; and
WHEREAS homelessness and
affordability is in a National Crisis in Canada.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the
Health and Social Services Advisory Committee asks that the Community and
Protective Services Committee bring this action before City Council to support,
in principle Bill C-304.
Historically, Canada has had an exemplary social housing record. However, since the 1990's government investment declined while the demand for affordable housing increased (increased immigration, inflationary increases to utilities and associated expenses, and the inability of wages in keeping up with cost of living).
A Federal Bill (C-304) is currently before the House of Commons (3rd reading) which, if approved, will enable the establishment of a national housing strategy to secure adequate, accessible and affordable housing to those without housing and to members of various vulnerable groups.
Approval of this motion by Council will enable the City of Ottawa to relay its endorsement of Bill C-304 to area MP's and to the Government of Canada through the office of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
There are no rural implications associated with this report.
Community and Social Services Department (CSSD)
The Community and Social Services Department (CSSD) supports the memo coming forward from Health and Social Services Advisory Committee seeking Council’s support in principle for the enactment of this Bill by Canada’s parliament.
The City of Ottawa has long advocated for, and will continue to advocate for, the federal government to create a national housing strategy. Therefore, the City’s CSSD supports the request from HSSAC, with the addition of a request that the federal bill be amended to include the following:
·
have at its core a commitment to ongoing,
sustainable funding for adequate, safe, secure affordable housing for Canadians
of all income levels;
·
include funding for a wide range of supports for
people with complex needs to obtain and maintain their housing; and
· be integrated with a strategy to end homelessness.
There are no legal/risk management impediments to implementing the recommendation in this report.
This report is aligned with the City Strategic Plan priorities; specifically the Sustainable, Healthy and Active City Priority which supports a healthy and active community by addressing homelessness and ensuring a supply of affordable housing for people on low incomes.
There are no financial implications with the approval of the recommendation contained in this report.
The HSSAC Coordinator to notify the Advisory Committee of City Council’s decision.