Cities press Liberals to cut red tape, revamp funding for key homeless strategy
OTTAWA — Cities struggling to house their homeless are asking the federal government to rethink its cornerstone homelessness program amid concerns about burdensome reporting requirements and inadequate funding.
An internal government report calls for the so-called Homelessness Partnering Strategy to provide different levels of funding to rural communities, which must house people over vast areas, and to urban centres struggling with skyrocketing real estate prices.
The issue of red tape bogging down the funding also came up repeatedly in meetings last year that were detailed in a briefing note to a senior official at Employment and Social Development Canada.
Cities asked the government to simplify reporting requirements about how money was being used, or provide extra cash to cover administrative costs, said the note, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.