ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: May 17, 2000
Author/Local: Annitta Lee/6025

RTS No. 01494

CC File No. 2001

Council: June 13, 2000

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Director of the Housing Centre, in consultation with the Director of Community Services, Social Planning
SUBJECT:	Housing and Homelessness Grant to FCM

RECOMMENDATION

THAT a grant of $10,280 be provided to the Big City Mayors' Caucus, FCM, for continuous support of the FCM National Housing Policy Options Team (NHPOT), the source of funds being Contingency Reserve.

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.

COUNCIL POLICY

Approval of a grant requires eight affirmative votes from Council.

On January 5, 1999 City Council joined other Canadian municipalities in declaring homelessness a national disaster and passed a number of motions calling for action by the Federal government and by FCM to assist in achieving Federal action.

BACKGROUND

The City of Vancouver has a fifty year history of involvement in the provision of affordable housing. Although housing is a responsibility of senior governments, the City has played a supportive role through land leases and grants.

City Council has consistently called on the federal government to become re-involved with funding new social housing since its withdrawal in 1993. At the beginning of 1999 the Cityjoined other municipalities in a national effort spearheaded by the City of Toronto to focus attention on housing and homelessness.

On April 27, 1999, Council unanimously approved a grant of $15,420 to the Big City Mayors' Caucus, FCM, for the Initiative on Homelessness and Housing.

DISCUSSION

This report supports a grant request to FCM as indicated in the letter contained in Appendix A (on file in the City Clerk's Office).

The National Housing Policy Options Team (NHPOT) was created by the Big City Mayors' Caucus in November 1998. Since then, the following have been done:

· A National Symposium on Homelessness and Housing was sponsored by the FCM and the City of Toronto in March 1999. Just prior to the Symposium, Prime Minister Chrétien appointed Claudette Bradshaw to work on coordinating a federal response. She and her staff were invited to participate in the NHPOT discussions periodically. She also met with many Mayors and Councillors across the country.

·NHPOT presented the National Housing Policy Options Team Report - A Call for Action to the June 1999 FCM Annual Convention. The document was adopted unanimously and contained direction for further work.

·The policy recommendations of the NHPOT paper were costed and integrated into the FCM Quality of Life Infrastructure Program Proposal presented to Finance Minister Paul Martin on October 12, 1999.

·Government relations work took place over the autumn and winter of 1999/2000, with meetings by FCM with key Ministers, Ministers' staff, numerous M.P.s, the Prime Minister's Office, Privy Council Office, Treasury Board and senior CMHC and HRDC staff, leading up to the federal budget.

·On November 17, 1999, FCM made a presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, advocating the Quality of Life Infrastructure Budget proposal. Many organizations, cities, and advocates specifically referenced the FCM NHPOT paper and research in making the case to the federal government for affordable housing investment.

·On December 17, 1999, Claudette Bradshaw, Federal Co-ordinator for Homelessness, announced $753 million in funding for initiatives aimed at homelessness. Minister Bradshaw recognized the efforts of FCM in making the initiative possible. (This included funding to extend the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program).

·The FCM Big City Mayors' Caucus met on February 7 with the Prime Minister, and Ministers Collenette, Robillard, Bradshaw and Gagliano to keep up pressure in the last weeks before the federal budget.

As a result of these works, the federal government recently has acknowledged it has a role in homelessness and affordable housing. However, NHPOT believe that last years' homelessness initiative and federal budget items were only the beginning. It is anticipated that, with an impending election, the government will seek out further initiatives.

The NHPOT Steering Committee proposes that the work of the team continue up to the federal budget of 2001. The effort will concentrate on presenting the federal government with a set of fully-articulated policy options and, where possible, actual program designs, and on negotiating their implementation. This work will also include the important task of designing a housing funding model which does not require 1/3 funding participation by cities. The team will also work to ensure that the funding already announced by Minister Bradshaw will be used to maximum effect, on behalf of municipal governments.

The grant request is for $0.02/capita which is $10,280 based on the 1996 Census Vancouver population of 514,008. A similar request has been made to the other cities which are members of the Big City Mayors' Caucus. To date, the cities of Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Waterloo have agreed to contribute. The grant would be administered by FCM.

The Directors of the Housing Centre and Community Services recommend approval of this grant. It is hoped that this funding will enable the NHPOT to complete the task of re-engaging the federal government in housing programs, in partnership with municipal and provincial governments, the non-profit and private sectors. By making a grant at the level of $0.02 per capita, the City of Vancouver will maintain a position on the NHPOT Steering Committee. It is important that Vancouver participate in this process to ensure the potential programs suit the Vancouver situation.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver