Toronto is losing $5.8 million in federal homeless funding – that’s one-third of the $17.29 promised to the city for 2006. The federal homeless dollars come through a program called the Supporting Community Partnerships Initiative (SCPI – which everyone pronounces “skippy”). The money goes to pay for improvements in homeless shelters (like better air circulation or food handling equipment), for transitional housing (short-term housing to help people make the transition from homelessness to permanent housing), and for services for the homeless (everything from health to housing help).
Without the dollars, homeless people will lose important services and shelter, agencies will have to start laying off staff, and valuable programs will be lost.
Toronto is not alone. London is facing homeless cuts of more than $500,000, and there are reports of cuts in Ottawa, Windsor and Winnipeg.
The federal homelessness program was launched in 1999 after effective political pressure from homeless advocates across the country. Originally, the program was funded for three years and was targeted to eight Canadian cities (no homelessness anywhere else, don’t you know!!!!). But Hamilton was added, then other places, until the program grew to fund activities in more than 60 communities.
But it was the same tiny pot of money, so a little bit got stretched a lot further. After three years, the program was extended for another three years. Then, last November, just before the federal election, the Liberals rushed through a one-year extension for $134.8 million. The newly elected Conservative government promised, after some pressure, to honour the one-year extension.
The program is due to “sunset” in March of 2007. So groups across the country have been mounting a campaign to extend the program. Now, some communities are not just fighting for a renewal of funding in 2007, but they trying to stop the cuts in 2006.
Shame on Stephen Harper and his Conservatives. Beating up on the homeless is not a very nice thing.
- Michael Shapcott
