Canadian Governments Goals: More Wealth for the Wealthy and Austerity for Everyone Else

Here's the timeline of the Great Greenbelt Giveaway by the Ford government including the attendance of some of the developers with gifts at Ford's daughter's wedding as an example of how the system operates.

 

Quote: 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has acknowledged mistakes were made in deciding to remove 7,400 acres of protected land from the Greenbelt, in the wake of a blistering report from the province's auditor general investigating his government's handling of the whole affair.

 

Speaking after the report -- which said developers with access to political staff had direct influence over land removal from the Greenbelt -- the premier admitted the province “could have had a better process.”

The report estimated the value of land removed from the Greenbelt subsequently increased by $8.3 billion dollars.

In her report, auditor general Bonnie Lysyk laid out a detailed timeline of the events leading up to removal. She noted which key players were informed when, and the requests that influential developers made to the Ford government.

The timeline stretches back to the creation of the Greenbelt and beforehand. Global News has selected key dates from 2022 illustrating how changes removing protected land made their way through government.

March: The Ford government makes changes to the terms of reference for the Greenbelt Council, weakening its mandate and making its advice confidential.

June 2: Doug Ford wins a second term as premier, forming a majority government after an Ontario-wide general election.

June 29: Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark receives his mandate letter from the premier outlining government priorities for his ministry. It says that, in the fall, his ministry should complete "work to codify processes for swaps, expansions, contractions and policy updates for the Greenbelt."

July 4: The premier's office appoints a new chief of staff for the housing minister, who will shepherd through the Greenbelt plan.

Aug. 11: A stag and doe party is held for Ford's daughter. The premier's office confirms that developers, identified as Ford's "personal friends," were in attendance.

Aug. 30: The housing minister's chief of staff is briefed on "potential tools available" to amend the Greenbelt, and whether a system-wide or site-by-site review is better.

Sept. 14: A development organization holds a dinner event. Two developers at the event approach the housing minister's chief of staff and give him "packages that contain information on two sites in the Greenbelt."

Sept. 15: The sale of one parcel of land in the Greenbelt in King Township is finalized and transferred to a developer. It sells for $80 million.

Sept. 16: The housing minister's chief of staff informs the ministry the government wants to look at land to be removed from the Greenbelt on a site-by-site basis, not through a complete review.

Sept. 25: The premier's daughter's wedding is held. Photographs of the seating arrangements for the wedding include the developer for a couple of sites removed from the Greenbelt.

Sept. 27: A law firm sends requests directly to the housing minister's chief of staff by email asking to have a site that is eventually removed taken out of the Greenbelt.

Sept. 29: The same firm sends a letter to the housing minister in an email to his chief of staff requesting an area be rezoned. Another email is sent by the same firm on the same day asking to remove a different area from the Greenbelt.

Oct. 3-5: A group of six staff, the Greenbelt Project Team, is formed.

Oct. 6-13: The Greenbelt Project Team is required to sign confidentiality agreements.

Oct. 7: The housing minister's chief of staff receives another message from the same law firm asking for land to be removed from the Greenbelt.

Oct. 13-31: Five USB sticks are given to the Greenbelt Project Team by the housing minister chief of staff with information on sites proposed for removal from the Greenbelt.

Oct. 24: Municipal elections are held.

Oct. 26: The chair of Greenbelt Council resigns and is replaced by Hazel McCallion.

Nov. 1: The chief of staff briefs his minister and associate minister on the proposed changes to the Greenbelt, including specific sites that will be removed. The premier is also briefed on the changes by political staff.

Nov. 2: Cabinet approves the changes and the beginning of a public consultation process on the land removal.

Nov. 3: Property owners and developers are told their land will be removed from the Greenbelt.

Nov. 4: The Progressive Conservative caucus is brief about the land removal, which is made public the same day when notices are posted on the Environmental Registry.

 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/other/timeline-how-the-ford-government-de...

Can the Great Greenbelt Giveaway be stopped? As Michael notes, it's hard to do when so many believe that every politician is a crook out for themselves. Hard, but not impossible if the public push hard and long.

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After a scathing auditor general's report that found Ontario's decision to open up protected Greenbelt lands for housing was heavily influenced by a small group of developers who now stand to make billions, the big question is: Can anyone stop the controversial land swap from going ahead?

Parts of the Greenbelt, a vast 810,000-hectare area of farmland, forest and wetland from Niagara Falls to Peterborough were opened to development in a bid to get more housing built late last year.

Following the report by Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk that found "the process was biased in favour of certain developers and landowners," Premier Doug Ford said his government would accept and implement 14 of 15 total recommendations.
The single recommendation Ford said his government won't accept is to revisit the land swaps and possibly reverse those decisions. Ford said the land will be used to build 50,000 homes desperately needed to help ease the province's housing crisis.

So what happens next? And is the land swap a done deal? Here's what we know.
What's underway?

One watchdog and one criminal authority are already involved. Ontario's integrity commissioner, who has the power to recommend disciplinary measures on public servants, is considering a request to investigate if the housing minister's chief of staff, Ryan Amato, broke any ethics rules connected to the province's choice of Greenbelt land to open for development.

That's on top of an ongoing investigation into the Greenbelt land swaps at the request of NDP Leader Marit Stiles, who asked the office to look into the "curious timing" of developers' Greenbelt land purchases and whether they had been tipped off by Housing Minister Steve Clark ahead of the government's announcement.

Both Ford and Clark have denied they had any knowledge of how Amato and his team were selecting sites for removal from the Greenbelt. Meanwhile, the Ontario Provincial Police, which can lay criminal charges and has access to broader investigative tools the auditor general doesn't, says it's still reviewing whether or not there's enough evidence to launch a full investigation.

What about other levels of government?

Municipalities can stall developments by refusing to re-zone land still largely zoned for agricultural uses. They can also refuse any development applications made to local councils, said Tim Gray, the executive director of advocacy group Environmental Defence.

Environmental Defence, part of the Alliance for a Liveable Ontario, a coalition of advocacy groups, is working with municipalities that have spoken against the Greenbelt changes, such as Hamilton, to "not cooperate in any way," according to Gray.
The federal government could play a role in areas where it has jurisdiction. One example is Rouge National Urban Park, which is adjacent to a swath of Greenbelt land opened for development. At a new conference on Thursday, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault said staff will be looking at the auditor general's report and any elements that touch on the federal government's environmental impact assessment study on development happening around the park. "We will be looking at those very closely," said Guilbeault. If that doesn't lead to any action, Gray says the federal minister can enact an emergency order under the federal Species at Risk Act that would make it so the province and developers would have "no choice" but to comply.

What about the courts?

Potential court challenges are up in the air until either the Ontario government or developers move to start construction on lands that previously belonged to the Greenbelt, says Gray.
Environmental Defence has people "on the ground" watching for the movement of trucks and heavy equipment and are ready to go to court if there's an opportunity, he added. When that might happen or what it might look like isn't yet clear. "They're going to try and move very quickly," said Gray.

Does the public have a role to play?

Some advocates say pushback from the public could pressure the Ford government to reverse course. On Friday however, Ford told reporters he will not back away from plans to build on the protected Greenbelt, adding no one received preferential treatment in the process, despite Lysyk's report.

Franz Hartmann, the co-ordinator for the Alliance for a Liveable Ontario, says it's up to residents to contact their MPPs, push them to recall legislature early and return the lands that were removed as police investigate. "As Ontarians, residents and citizens, it's our duty to speak up," said Hartmann. "Our job is to let our elected officials know we do not accept this."

Trevor Farrow, a professor at York University's Osgoode Hall Law School, said not only does the auditor general's report call into question the government's choice to remove environmental protections during a climate crisis, it shakes public trust in the way the government operates. "People need to be able to trust choices and processes," said Farrow. "If the auditor general is calling into serious question how any government makes choices around zoning, planning and bylaws, what's to say that everyone else will still play by the rules?"

Ford has already admitted his government followed a flawed process in a bid to quickly get housing development off the ground. Farrow says that acknowledgement can help restore faith in the government. The next step, he says, should be to either slow down or stop any developments until the public "can get their head around" what's at stake — something the Ford government has said it wouldn't do.

"It's so important for all public figures and quite frankly for everyone to have justice and policy not only done, but be seen to be done," said Farrow, "so we can continue to trust in the public institutions that are so important for the running of society and democracy itself."

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles yesterday asked the Ontario Integrity Commissioner to also investigate "within his Greenbelt investigation the premier and government staffers' reported use of personal phones and emails" to carry out and coverup aspects of the Great Greenbelt Giveaway to PC party developer donors. 

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles is asking the province's integrity commissioner to consider within his Greenbelt investigation the premier and government staffers' reported use of personal phones and emails.

Stiles' request comes in the wake of last week's scathing auditor general's report into the government's decision to open up protected Greenbelt lands to housing development.

Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk found that the process of selecting the 15 specific sites was not transparent, with all but one suggested by Housing Minister Steve Clark's chief of staff, who was given packages at an industry event by two key developers.

Lysyk also found that political staff received emails from lobbyists on their personal accounts, sometimes forwarded emails from their government accounts to personal ones, contrary to public service guidelines, and were regularly deleting emails, contrary to the rules.

Stiles is also asking the integrity commissioner to be aware of a Global News report that suggests Premier Doug Ford is using his personal cellphone for government business.

The integrity commissioner's Greenbelt ethics investigation is into Clark, not Ford, but Stiles says communications between Ford and Clark are relevant so she wants to ensure any relevant records on Ford's personal phone are disclosed.

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/08/16/news/ndp-complaint-integrity...

As pressure mounted from Auditor General Bonnie Lysck report and the NDP's comments on the PC Ford government over its Great Greenbelt Giveaway of $8.3 billion (2016 land prices which are undoubtedly much higher today) to PC party funders and devolopers, Ford offered up a sacrifical lamb on the altar of politics, the Minister of Housing's chief of staff, Ryan Amato. Both Ford and Minister of Housing Steve Clark played Sergeant Shultz, saying they knew nothig about what was happening. You have to be as dumb as Colonel Klinck to believe that. 

And the billionaire gravytrain keeps rolling on.

In the wake of a heated controversy surrounding the Ontario Greenbelt land swap, Ryan Amato, chief of staff for Housing Minister Steve Clark, has tendered his resignation. Premier Doug Ford accepted Tuesday’s resignation "effective immediately” as confirmed by a spokesperson, according to CBC.

Amato’s pivotal role in the contentious Greenbelt land swap was highlighted in auditor general Bonnie Lysyk’s report. The move to remove specific sites from the protected Greenbelt for housing development came under scrutiny in the report, revealing a process seemingly influenced by a select group of well-connected developers who had direct access to Amato.

Lysyk found the Ford government’s 2022 decision to open part of the protected Greenbelt for development was the result of a deeply flawed and biased process.

Lysyk revealed the inner workings of the site selection process. Astonishingly, of the 15 sites that were eventually excluded from the Greenbelt, a staggering 14 were put forth by Amato and a significant portion of these selections were made based on input from developers and specifically directed to Amato.

The report further indicated Amato played a pivotal role in selecting the lands removed from the Greenbelt and those decisions ultimately benefited developers, the auditor general’s investigation found.

Amato instructed ministry staff to restrict site-selection assessment to land sites he had mostly identified, the report found, limiting their ability to gauge the sites’ agricultural and environmental importance. He then directed this "Greenbelt Project Team" to not disclose any information and had them sign non-disclosure agreements.

About 92 per cent of the approximately 7,400 acres ultimately removed from the Greenbelt make up five land sites involving three developers, the report found, adding two of those developers had direct access to Amato.

At the Building Industry and Land Development Association’s chair’s dinner last September, “two prominent housing developers approached him and gave him packages containing information to remove two land sites from the Greenbelt,” Lysyk wrote.

Amato told the auditor general he did not open the packages immediately, but kept them in a stack in his office and added to them as more packages rolled in.

Ford and Clark both told Lysyk they were unaware the land chosen for removal was controlled by Amato.

Ontario’s Greenbelt was created in 2005 to permanently protect agricultural and environmentally sensitive lands from development. The swath of about two million acres of protected land includes farmland, forests, wetlands, rivers and lakes. In December 2022, the Ford government removed land from the Greenbelt to open it up for housing development as part of the province’s commitment to build 1.5 million new homes over the next decade. A total of 7,400 acres were removed, which the provincial government rationalizes with its commitment to add another 9,400 acres to the Greenbelt elsewhere.

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/08/22/news/ontario-housing-ministe...

Nothing illustrates Canadian governments goals, namely more wealth for the wealthy and austerity for everyone else than the Great Greenbelt Giveaway of $8.3 billion of land to PC Party developer donors by the Ford government while this government fails to recognize the treaty rights of First Nations to much of this land. 

Today Ontario's  Integrity Commissioner, David Wake, is recommending that Housing Minister Steve Clark be reprimanded for failing to oversee the flawed process in the Great Greenbelt Giveaway that allowed PC Party developer donors to get land taken out of the Greenbelt that was worth $8.3 billion (a very conservative estimate from the Auditor General since it was based on 2016 land values) and generate extraordinary profits. The full report, as well as more details can be seen at this url: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/greenbelt-steve-clark-integrity-c...

The chiefs of Ontario's First Nations are demanding the cancellation of the Greenbelt land swap because much of the land is covered by treaties with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the 1923 Williams Treaties and should be a concern of every Ontarian in their opinion.  Once again indigenous rights are simply walked all over. 

The Auditor General found 83% of the land was farmland of the highest quality.

The Ford government's $8.3 billion Great Greenbelt Giveaway to it PC Party developer donors, with 92% going to just two developers,  is just one of a litany of policies favouring their well-connected friends that are creating problems for Ontarians. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/greenbelt-scandal-may-only-...

As pressure mounted from Auditor General Bonnie Lysck's report and the NDP's comments on the PC Ford government over its Great Greenbelt Giveaway of $8.3 billion (2016 land prices which are undoubtedly much higher today) to PC party funders and devolopers, Ford offered up a sacrifical lamb on the altar of politics, the Minister of Housing's chief of staff, Ryan Amato. Both Ford and Minister of Housing Steve Clark played Sergeant Shultz, saying they knew nothig about what was happening. You have to be as dumb as Colonel Klinck to believe that.  https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/08/22/news/ontario-police-hand-gre...

First Nations leaders from across Ontario are demanding the provincial government return environmental protections to land it recently removed from the Greenbelt to build housing.

The Chiefs of Ontario, an organization that advocates for 133 First Nations in the province, said it unanimously passed a resolution at an emergency meeting Monday opposing the so-called Greenbelt land swap.

In addition to returning the land to the Greenbelt, the resolution featured four other demands, including that Housing Minister Steve Clark resign or be removed.

Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare, who is from the M'Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island, said First Nations weren't adequately consulted on the Greenbelt changes, despite the changes directly affecting their treaty and constitutionally protected rights.

"Planning decisions related to housing are foundational to how we live and live together,"  Hare said at a news conference following the meeting. "This requires all governments to work together in respect to treaty relationships and obligations."...

Land covered by multiple treaties

The majority of the land removed from the Greenbelt is covered by multiple treaties with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the 1923 Williams Treaties, of which seven other First Nations are party, according to Lysyk's report. Rights under those treaties include harvesting rights in certain areas, such as rights to hunt, fish, trap and gather.

Chief Laurie Carr of the Hiawatha First Nation, one of the signatories to the Williams Treaties, said removing land from the Greenbelt "directly interferes" with those rights. The auditor general found that 83 per cent of the land removed is among the highest quality farmland in the province. About 400 acres of the removed land are wetlands or woodlands. "This is not just a First Nation issue and it should be concerning to every Ontarian," Carr said. "There are many more areas to develop that don't touch on ... significant protected lands."

Chief Taynar Simpson of the Alderville First Nation, another signatory to the Williams Treaties, said the Greenbelt removals will damage water systems and wetlands that supply groundwater, reduce flood risks and improve climate resilience. He said recent wildfires and severe flooding events should serve as a warning that wetlands need to be protected. "More importantly, wetland complexes are extremely significant for First Nations as they are considered medicine chests for harvesting," Simpson said. "Certain medicinal plants only grow within these wetlands and removing them from the Greenbelt will remove access to dozens of medicines that First Nations have the right to harvest."

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/ontario-first-nations-leaders-reit...

By the midday of January 2nd the average income of the top 100 Canadian CEOs surpassed that of what the average Canadian worker will earn in all of 2024, because these CEOs earn 246 times the average Canadians income. Interestingly, these allegedly economic geniuses have supervised an enconomy that " grew just 0.8 per cent a year on average in this country, its lowest rate of growth since the 1930s." (https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/canada-s-top-executives-make-246-times...(%2445%2C100). Furthermore, economic growth was much higher in the 1950s to the 1970s when CEOs were only making 30 to 40 times the average worker, which suggests that a more equitable distribution of wealth is better for the overall economy. Of course, while the Financial Post recognizes the problem of sluggish economic growth, its solution is to have the business leaders who got us into this sluggish growth meet to dream up a solution. Hum, I wonder what they are dreaming up?

Over the last ten years real GDP per capita grew just 0.8 per cent a year on average in this country, its lowest rate of growth since the 1930s. Total GDP has been growing because of our growing population. But GDP per person has been essentially stagnant. This extended period of slow growth has widened the gap between per capita growth in the United States and Canada, demonstrating that the causes of our slumping growth are domestic, not external. ...

There is growing recognition that we need to address our faltering rate of economic growth.

https://financialpost.com/opinion/canada-worst-decade-real-economic-grow...

A Quebec research institute, IRIS, has published a study showing that 59 Canadian companies have transferred $120 billion in net profits to the European low-tax country of Luxembourg. Of course this is just one of many tax havens which corporations use to avoid paying taxes either legally in tax avoidance or illegally in tax evasion. It means that Canadian workers end up paying the taxes corporations have avoided paying and losing services not provided by the unpaid corporate taxes.

"Colin Pratte, a researcher with IRIS and the study’s co-author, said Luxembourg was chosen for the research because, unlike other tax havens, it makes financial information publicly available." So we don't we know how much Canadian money is hidden in other tax havens. Meanwhile, the average worker doesn't even see the tax money taken from him before his paycheck arrives. "

Pratte said tax avoidance strategies, while legal, deprive Canadian governments of revenue that could be used to pay for services for citizens. At the very least, he believes, Canada could have followed the lead of other countries such as France, Poland and Denmark, which took steps to prevent companies that avoid paying domestic taxes from receiving public subsidies." He also noted the problem of tax havens removing potential taxes from Canadian governments has been known since at least  1992 when an auditor general's report identified the problem, but neither Liberal or Conservative federal governments "have failed to enact legislation to tackle the problem." He also believes "he believes, Canada could have followed the lead of other countries such as France, Poland and Denmark, which took steps to prevent companies that avoid paying domestic taxes from receiving public subsidies.he believes, Canada could have followed the lead of other countries such as France, Poland and Denmark, which took steps to prevent companies that avoid paying domestic taxes from receiving public subsidies."

A Quebec research institute says some of Canada’s biggest companies have transferred billions of dollars in profits to Luxembourg to avoid paying domestic taxes.

The research published Thursday by IRIS says 59 Canadian companies — including 33 headquartered in Quebec — transferred $119.8 billion in net profits to the European low-tax country over a period of about 10 years.

Colin Pratte, a researcher with IRIS and the study’s co-author, said Luxembourg was chosen for the research because, unlike other tax havens, it makes financial information publicly available. While studying those disclosures, researchers concentrated on the period between 2011 and 2021, during which the transferring of profits rose sharply, he said. “What we realized is that the phenomenon doesn’t only still exist, but it’s accelerated in recent years,” he said. “Transfers increased by an average of 20 per cent per year between 2011 and 2021, and in 2021 alone, we’re talking about $20 billion that was transferred by Canadian companies to Luxembourg,” he said in a phone interview.

Many companies transfer wealth through a process known as intra-group debt, which allows money to be loaned between subsidiaries in different countries in a way that increases a company’s debt and interest costs — and reduces its taxable income — in higher-tax jurisdictions, he said.

 

The companies listed in the study operate in several sectors including finance, natural resources, food and technology, and include big names such as Thomson Reuters, Alimentation Couche-Tard and Saputo Inc.

The study notes that, unlike tax evasion, tax avoidance strategies are legal. However, the researchers contend they violate the “spirit” of the law because they permit companies to pay ultra-low taxes in jurisdictions other than where the majority of their economic activities occur. 

Pratte said a quarter of the profits transferred in recent years come from companies in the food sector, which is particularly concerning at a time when households are struggling with the rising cost of food. Representatives from Couche-Tard and Saputo Inc. were not immediately available for comment, while Thomson Reuters declined a media request.

The researchers said some companies on the list have received public subsidies in Canada, such as COVID-19 wage subsidies. As an example, IRIS wrote that CAE Inc., a Montreal-based multinational in the aeronautics sector, transferred $99.2 million to Luxembourg in 2020-21 “while receiving $115.7 million from the federal COVID-19 wage and rent subsidies for businesses.” In an email, CAE’s director of public affairs and global communications wrote that the company accessed government relief measures during the pandemic and “used the funds to substitute for cost-saving measures and alleviate some of the impact on affected employees. “In regards to our entity in Luxembourg, it is an inactive holding company. It is not part of tax planning,” Anne von Finckenstein wrote.

Pratte said tax avoidance strategies, while legal, deprive Canadian governments of revenue that could be used to pay for services for citizens. At the very least, he believes, Canada could have followed the lead of other countries such as France, Poland and Denmark, which took steps to prevent companies that avoid paying domestic taxes from receiving public subsidies.

The study says it’s not possible to measure how much potential Canadian tax revenue has been lost, because the profits transferred to Luxembourg come from companies’ activities in multiple countries, and are sent in various forms — such as dividends or royalties — that are taxed different ways.

Pratte said the study, while as thorough as possible, doesn’t capture the full scope of tax evasion. He notes that it only deals with one tax haven — Luxembourg — and that their list of Canadian companies operating there may not be complete. He said Quebec’s over-representation on the list is based on the fact that the researchers made a special effort to identify companies from the province, and not necessarily because the province makes more use of tax strategies in Luxembourg. Pratte said the problem of tax havens has been documented in Canada for decades, going back to a Canadian auditor general report in 1992, adding that he believes successive governments have failed to enact legislation to tackle the problem. “We often describe the problem of tax havens, of tax avoidance as being a complex technical and legal problem when, in fact, it’s a political problem,” he said.

https://globalnews.ca/news/10067000/tax-avoidance-canadian-companies-tra...

The Federal Housing Advocate, Marie-Josee Houle, released a report today, in which she emphasized "Tent encampments prove 'exactly how broken' Canada's system is". The fact that this report is "the first of its kind" shows how our governments have ignored this problem as it exponentially got worse over decades. She noted that 20% to 25% of the homeless live in tent encampments but in the vast majority of our communities, the only solution offered is to tear down the encampements without offering much in the way of decent housing for the displaced while often destroying the little that they own in the removal process. Consequently, "Government must act immediately to save lives." She is calling for "national encampments response plan that would ensures that those living in encampments have access to basic necessities, like clean water, food and health care... [and] speedy solutions to permanent housing issues that are driven by federal, provincial and local governments" by the end of August. Houle also noted that the housing problem is not simply one of insufficient supply because it is tied in part to colonialism, trauma and poverty, and therefore homelessness is especially high among indigenous people. 

A new report on tent encampments across Canada calls for urgent action from all levels of government to end what the federal housing advocate describes as a "life and death crisis." Marie-Josée Houle said her report, released Tuesday, is the first of its kind in Canada. The report — titled Upholding Dignity and Human Rights — outlines six calls to action to address ongoing homeless encampments across Canada. "It is a physical manifestation of exactly how broken our housing and homelessness system is from coast to coast to coast in Canada. It needs urgent measures," Houle told CBC News. "Government must act immediately to save lives."

Houle launched a review into homeless encampments in February 2023 and released an interim report in October. The final report comes as communities across the country grapple with encampments and residents without safe, consistent shelter.  According to the final report, an estimated 20 to 25 per cent of homeless people across the country live in tent encampments, affecting not just many cities but also rural regions, including northern Saskatchewan, Labrador and Nunavut.

"It is an issue of life and death for a lot of people. And so we need immediate action and then we need some long-term action," said Houle. "Government is … really good at responding on the immediate but then they forget the last piece, which is about the permanent solutions."

While the federal government has "really couched" housing supply issues as the main cause of homelessness, said Houle, more complex issues — including colonialism, trauma and poverty, as well as barriers to the shelter system — are at fault.

While some temporary housing solutions are better than others, she said, they are often unsanitary and cause people to lose sight of the need for long-term measures.

 

Houle's report calls for the implementation by Aug. 31 of a national encampments response plan that would ensures that those living in encampments have access to basic necessities, like clean water, food and health care. It also calls for speedy solutions to permanent housing issues that are driven by federal, provincial and local governments, and that are based on people's living experience. 

While the federal government has "really couched" housing supply issues as the main cause of homelessness, said Houle, more complex issues — including colonialism, trauma and poverty, as well as barriers to the shelter system — are at fault. While some temporary housing solutions are better than others, she said, they are often unsanitary and cause people to lose sight of the need for long-term measures.

"Shelters are important. They're there for emergencies. That's not a place for people to live," said Houle. "Just because people experiencing homelessness are no longer visibly experiencing homelessness to the public, [it] doesn't mean that they are not vulnerable anymore or that the issue is solved." ...

Mark Wilson, a housing advocate who has been volunteering his time with the city's encampment, said it's no surprise some people prefer a night in a tent to an overnight stay at a shelter. "Some of them are disgusting. So why would you want to be there? There are issues of safety in the shelters, as well. People have their stuff stolen," he said. "There's a reason that people are still here and whatever that reason is, they believe it's better than what they're being offered." ...

While a report on tent encampments is "a step in the right direction," he said, everything hinges on the political will to find solutions. "Here in St. John's, this problem is only going to get worse if the federal, the provincial and municipal governments don't work together to eradicate this issue," said Wilson. ...

The report will now be submitted to federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser, who, according to the National Housing Strategy Act, has to respond in writing by June 12.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/federal-housing-adv...