Policy issues key driving forces of homelessness
The executive director of Alliance To End Homelessness Ottawa stated that Canadian policies are the key driving forces behind homelessness in the capital.
Meg McCallum told The Rob Snow Show on Sept. 14 that anyone can become homeless, and it's not a personal failure, it's a policy failure.
“Homelessness has not always been with us,” she said.
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McCallum noted that the Canadian government built and financed over one million low cost homes between 1944-1960 for returning service and men and their families at a time when Canada's population was roughly 12 million people.
She said with with many people living off of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), it's like “many of them are living in poverty.”
McCallum added that the rent to income housing in Ottawa is inadequate, saying back in the 1970s, 80s and the early 90s, a lot of housing stock was built.
“In the 70s and 80s, we were building over 20,000 affordable, non-profit units each year,” she said. “In the last 10 years, I am guessing, we have seen 1,000 units and that's quite low.”
Listen to the full interview with Meg McCallum below:
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