JOINT NEWS RELEASE
LLOYD LONGFIELD, MP GUELPH
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MP Lloyd Longfield was joined by MP Adam Vaughan, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of Families, Children, and Social Development for consultations on affordable housing and issues surrounding homelessness and poverty in Guelph. Joining the consultation was MPP Liz Sandals, Mayor Cam Guthrie, Ryan Pettipiere, director of housing for the County of Wellington as well as Lori Richer and Randalin Ellery, co-chairs of the 20,000 Homes Campaign.
By opening the dialogue with an overview of the state of homelessness in Guelph-Wellington, the discussion involved key issues on the path to ending homelessness. The discussion also focused on key achievements in the 20,000 Homes Campaign and the release of the 2016/17 Annual Report: Guelph-Wellington 20,000 Homes.
The Government of Canada is reiterating its commitment to finding solutions to improve the economic well-being of all Canadian families so they can have a real and fair chance to succeed. The meeting Friday brought together the local as well as provincial and federal representatives all to one table to continue to address the needs of our community.
The insight and experience that Adam Vaughan brings to tackling this national issue is exceptional, having spent many years working on housing issues on Toronto City Council.
The Government of Canada is committed to reducing poverty and improving the economic wellbeing of all Canadian families so they can have a real and fair chance to succeed. Through the federal budget, the Government of Canada has invested in a range of initiatives to support poverty reduction, including the Canada Child Benefit, the Homelessness Partnering Strategy, and increasing the Old Age Security’s Guaranteed Income Supplement.
Quotes
“As we get ready to launch the National Housing Strategy, the level of engagement, people, and organizations in Guelph working on housing and poverty issues is inspiring. This bodes well for our programs and will make the federal government’s efforts more effective..” - Adam Vaughan, Member of Parliament for Spadina—Fort York and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children, and Social Development (Housing and Urban Affairs)
“Our government is committed to strengthening the middle class and helping those working hard to join it. However, homelessness is a reality for too many Canadians and a challenge for every Canadian community. I am honoured to have Adam Vaughan visit our community and share his insight and expertise on homelessness and affordable housing with Guelph-Wellington” - Lloyd Longfield
Quick Facts
As part of our commitment to help seniors live independent lives, we have made investments in the construction and refurbishing of affordable seniors housing, and are working with the provinces, territories, and others to help communities become more age-friendly
Budget 2016 announced the first funding increase since 1999 of $111 million for the Homelessness Partnering Strategy. Our government has also committed to renewing and expanding the Homelessness Partnering Strategy. To build on these investments from last year, Budget 2017 invests 2.1B$ over 11 years which will bring the funding to tackle homelessness to 100 per cent more than what it was under the previous government
The Canadian Child Benefit is targeted to families who need it most: low- and middle-income families. With the introduction of a better-targeted child benefit, about 300,000 fewer children will be living in poverty in Canada in 2017 compared with 2014. Annually Guelph has received a total of 14,220 payments with the average payment of $5,870 for a total of $83,472,000.
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