Governments of Canada and Quebec take another step in the fight against homelessness

QUÉBEC, Aug. 26, 2019 /CNW/ - Every Canadian deserves a safe, affordable place to call home. Still, every day, vulnerable Canadians are homeless or risk becoming homeless.

Today, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and Quebec Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Danielle McCann, announced that the governments of Canada and Quebec reached two agreements on the implementation of the federal program Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy, with total investments of nearly $175 million over five years for the period between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2024, including: 

• the 2019–2024 Canada-Quebec Reaching Home Agreement ($172 million);
• the 2019–2021 Agreement to Implement the Reaching Home Community Capacity and Innovation Funding Stream in Quebec ($2.8 million).

These agreements are based on the terms and principles of collaboration established in previous agreements on homelessness, while strengthening community dialogue and collaboration as fundamental principles.

The agreements will support communities in developing and implementing results-based plans. Decision-making will take place at the local level, and communities will be called on to identified priorities for community planning. A variety of actions to prevent and reduce homelessness will continue to receive funding. Communities will benefit from increased flexibility in using the funding based on local priorities.

In support of proven measures, both agreements announced today are another step in tackling homelessness through the progressive implementation of a coordinated access system. The goal of the coordinated access system is to promote the implementation of collaborative processes that aim to better meet the needs of people and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Quebec will have time to develop a coordinated access system that aligns with its priorities and directions.

Quotes

"When one person is forced to live on the street, we all lose. Homelessness is a very real situation for too many Canadians and a challenge for all Canadian communities. With the Reaching Home agreement, we are implementing a program with the Quebec government that will give communities more flexibility and more resources to better meet the needs of Quebec's most vulnerable individuals."
– The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

"Since 2001, various Canada-Quebec agreements have contributed in a concrete way to increasing the service offering for homelessness in Quebec. I am thrilled with this new collaboration with the federal government which respects Quebec's directions and priorities. In particular, the agreements will enable each community to benefit from increased flexibility in the use of funding based on the priorities they have identified. They will also independently identify targets and results to prevent and reduce homelessness."
– Ms. Danielle McCann, Quebec Minister of Health and Social Services

Quick Facts

• Since 2001, the Government of Canada and the Quebec government have entered into successive agreements to jointly implement homelessness programs.
• The two governments will continue their collaboration on the implementation of and follow-up on the two agreements announced today. A joint management committee made up of representatives of both governments will serve as an official forum for decisions and discussions on all topics related to the two agreements.
• Anticipating that discussions on the 2019–2024 Canada-Quebec Reaching Home Agreement would continue beyond March 31, 2019, the two governments implemented transitional measures for a duration of two years, from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2021, to ensure the continuation of services.
• The Government of Canada has committed $2.2 billion over 10 years to fighting homelessness across Canada. The investments announced today will support the prevention and reduction of homelessness, and will help reach the objectives of the Government of Canada's National Housing Strategy, including reducing chronic homelessness by 50% by 2027–2028.
• The implementation model proposed in the 2019–2024 Canada-Quebec Reaching Home Agreement promotes greater agility to support communities in consolidating services provided in Quebec to prevent and reduce homelessness. This implementation model is similar to the community entity model put forth elsewhere in the country through Reaching Home. It also aligns with the priorities identified in Quebec's national policy to fight homelessness, "Ensemble, pour éviter la rue et en sortir," as well as with the concrete measures set out in the 2015­–2020 Inter-Ministerial Homelessness Action Plan, "Mobilisés et engagés pour prévenir et réduire l'itinérance."
• Under the special Reaching Home delivery model for Quebec, the Government of Canada recognizes that the coordination and administration of the 2019–2024 Canada-Quebec Reaching Home Agreement will create a new workload for Quebec partners in the public network and community sector. In light of this, discussions on financial support related to this agreement's coordination and administration mandate will continue over the coming months. Moreover, like elsewhere in the country, community partners will benefit from reduced reporting requirements implemented under Reaching Home.

Related Information

Backgrounder: Reaching Home 

Associated Links

Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy
Federal Lands Initative

Politique nationale de lutte à l'itinérance - Ensemble pour éviter la rue et en sortir (Available in French only)
Plan d'action interministériel en itinérance 2015-2020 – Mobilisés et engagés pour prévenir et réduire l'itinérance (Available in French only)

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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada