Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will table the fall fiscal update on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023, which is expected to focus on housing and affordability as the Liberal government struggles to regain favour with Canadians feeling overwhelmed and angry about the rising cost of living.
Advocates say while the focus on housing affordability in the federal budget is promising, its measures could go further to help people in the most dire need.
Homeless people staying in close quarters at shelters, tent cities and warming centres are especially at risk for COVID-19, says a community advocate who is working to ensure hand-washing stations and clean bathrooms are available in Vancouver.
A cross-party group of MPs, flanked by organizations that help veterans in need, made a plea on the eve of the 75th anniversary of D-Day for the government to end veteran homelessness and create a special housing stipend as a key first step.
The federal Liberals aren't living up to a promise to legislate a right to housing, a group of housing and homelessness advocates say, and that's threatening the objectives of their own $40-billion housing strategy.
Provinces and territories have agreed to fund a key financial pillar supporting the Trudeau Liberals' decade-long housing strategy, vowing to spend billions to repair and build social housing units and create a new rental benefit.