Angus questions Liberals on homelessness funding cuts in north

OTTAWA — Timmins—James Bay MP Charlie Angus is pushing for the federal Liberal government to reverse course on apparent cuts to funding once earmarked to help address the homelessness crisis in northern Ontario.

During a standing committee meeting on May 9, Angus stated, "North Bay DSSAB, they've been trying to create this integrated homelessness hub, yet their funding is scheduled to drop 70 per cent. They would get by on 245,986. What are you going to buy with that? Nothing."

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"So, can I go back to northern communities and tell them that they're not being left behind?" Angus asked Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser. 

About the drops in funding, Angus had earlier asked Fraser, "Why would you walk away on northern Ontario when this crisis is hitting us full-force in the face?"

Minister Fraser responded by first stating he is familiar with the situation in northern Ontario as his sister lives in Timmins.

"The reason that there was a drop in funding is not a cut to the program," Fraser told Angus, "but an exhaustion of the pandemic-era increase we saw through Reaching Home to help increase short-term pressures.

"We've decided in the recent federal budget — should it pass — to re-establish that higher level of funding. We expect in the months ahead to be able to notify communities what that increased funding will mean at the local level."

Angus noted grimly, in his own riding, in Timmins, where the downtown business district was once a  bustling area, "Nobody wants to go into the downtown anymore because we are hit with the triple-crisis: mental health, opioid addiction, and homelessness."

The City of Timmins "is doing extraordinary work but they are not equipped for this job," Angus said, noting funding is spread over large swaths of northern Ontario, with many First Nations communities among them, all with their own sets of dire circumstances.

Angus observed the previous Reaching Home funding level for Cochrane District of approximately $944,000 is due to be cut in half to $465,000.

In Kenora, 33.5 per cent of children live in poverty, Angus read from his notes. "That's staggering. They are facing cuts of over 50 per cent."

Angus pressed Fraser on the status of bridge funding for social services agencies. "They're being told right now to prepare for cuts and they are having to make decisions now about walking away on programs that help the homeless."

Fraser agreed there should be discussions about opportunities for additional funding in the federal budget above the current funding levels.

"I'm glad that you're using your voice to draw attention to this problem," Fraser said to Angus. "It's a real problem. It's not fair that people who live in a country as wealthy as Canada go to bed without a roof over their head. 

"I want to help. I can tell you that we're putting money behind that desire to help, as well, and we're going to work with members across the country to help ensure community organizations in their regions are supported."