Resolutions for the Upcoming FCM

National Board of Directors Meeting

or FCM Annual Conference

The Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee reports having:

(1)adopted the FCM Draft Resolutions on:

(a)Children's Issues (as amended);

(b)Housing;

(c)Homelessness; and

(d)Immigration and Refugee Issues,

contained in the following communication from Councillor Chris Korwin-Kuczynski, Chair, Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee;

(2)directed that the Chair of the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee be requested to forward the aforementioned resolutions to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in order to meet its February 3, 1999, submission date;

and requests the concurrence of Council in the action taken:

On January 4, 1999, I received a communication from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities inviting submission of resolutions for debate at the March 3-6, 1999, National Board of Directors meeting or at the Annual Conference from June 4-7, 1999. The resolutions are to be of national municipal interest and fall within the jurisdiction of the federal, provincial and territorial governments acting at the interprovincial level, or FCM itself.

In order to meet the February 3, 1999, submission date, I have attached a series of motions for approval by the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee, and Council, that I believe should be tabled for debate at the FCM. These motions relate to housing, homelessness, immigration, and children's issues.

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(a) FCM Draft Resolution on Children's Issues

WHEREAS the rate and depth of child poverty in Canada continues to rise and is currently at an unacceptable national rate of 23 percent; and

WHEREAS there is significant evidence of the positive impact of investments in early childhood development on children's health and well-being; and

WHEREAS the federal and provincial governments have committed to developing a National Children's Agenda, a collective strategy to improve the well-being of Canada's children; and

WHEREAS the federal government has introduced a National Children's Benefit that increases federal benefits to low income families and facilitates provincial and territorial reinvestment in services and benefits for children in low income families; and

WHEREAS the federal government pledged in 1989 to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000; and

WHEREAS municipalities across Canada are involved in a number of community-based initiatives to improve the well-being of children, and, in some cases, have significant responsibilities for the provision of services and programs for children;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the federal, provincial and territorial governments be urged to involve municipalities in developing a National Children's Agenda, and further that the federal government be urged to enhance its funding support to federal initiatives, such as the National Children's Benefit, focussed on reducing child poverty, and on initiatives, such as the Community Action Program (CAPC), Child Care Programs, and the Canada Pre-Natal Nutrition Program, to improve the well-being of children in communities.

(b) FCM Draft Resolution on Housing

WHEREAS communities across Canada have rising numbers of residents with housing affordability problems, with 1,151,000 Canadian tenant households in Core Housing Need as of 1996, and rising numbers who are homeless; and

WHEREAS such housing need is closely related to declining average tenant incomes (down 12.4percent from 1991-1996) and rising numbers of young families and children in poverty, but rising housing costs in many Canadian communities; and

WHEREAS the federal government, with the provinces, has a responsibility to ensure the health and social well-being of Canadians, including adequate housing for low and moderate-income Canadians; and

WHEREAS the federal government has for five years been withdrawing from affordable housing, including flatlining subsidies while needs grow, eliminating support for new social housing in 1993, and devolving responsibility for administration of housing programs to the provinces under agreements whereby federal spending will decline to zero over approximately 30-40 years; and

WHEREAS devolution of federal responsibility for administering housing programs should not mean withdrawal of the federal government from contributing to adequate housing for low and moderate-income Canadians; and

WHEREAS Canada has endorsed international covenants, including the Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements which speaks of a right to adequate housing, and yet Canada has been criticized by the United Nations for failure to live up to such intentions;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Federation of Canadian Municipalities urge the federal government, notwithstanding federal housing devolution to the provinces, to reinvest in housing all housing related expenditure savings that have accrued to it, or will accrue to it, and additional funding sufficient to meet the need for new construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing.

(c) FCM Draft Resolution Regarding Homelessness

WHEREAS homelessness is considered by many to have reached crisis proportions with several municipalities (e.g., Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver) declaring homelessness a national disaster; and

WHEREAS the rate and depth of poverty in Canada continues to rise, placing people at further risk of becoming homeless; and

WHEREAS homelessness has been linked to policy changes in the areas of income support and social housing programs, which are provincial and federal jurisdictional responsibilities; and

WHEREAS federal and provincial funds are needed to develop the capacity of all municipalities to provide homeless supports and services, such as emergency shelter, to allow people the option of remaining in their home community and to reduce service demand on larger cities; and

WHEREAS Toronto's Homelessness Action Task Force has clearly identified the responsibility of all levels of government to address homelessness; and

WHEREAS municipalities, along with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, identify the need for partnerships between all levels of government to effectively address homelessness;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the federal government be urged to take the lead in establishing an interministerial process, in partnership with provincial and municipal governments, to develop a national strategy to address the systemic causes of homelessness.

(d) FCM Draft Resolutions on Immigration and Refugee Issues

(1)WHEREAS municipalities are the level of government most directly impacted by federal and provincial immigration and refugee policies, programs and practices; and

WHEREAS municipalities have historically been excluded from the table when policy and program decisions are made;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the federal government be urged to establish formal links directly with municipalities to enable direct and ongoing input on relevant policy and program issues.

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(2)WHEREAS the federal government has jurisdictional responsibility with respect to immigrants and refugees; and

WHEREAS refugee claimants are not eligible for federal settlement programs and that municipalities, along with the provinces, assume financial responsibility for the cost of supports and services provided to refugee claimants, such as social assistance benefits and hostel services; and

WHEREAS municipalities, along with the provinces, assume financial responsibility for the cost of social assistance benefits to immigrants as a result of sponsorship breakdown;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the federal government be urged to assume responsibility for costs afforded to provinces and municipalities for the provision of supports and services to refugee claimants and to immigrants defaulting on their sponsorship agreements.

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(3)WHEREAS the federal government is attempting to devolve the management of settlement programs to the provinces as part of the Settlement Renewal Initiative; and

WHEREAS agreements have not been negotiated with all provinces with respect to settlement renewal; and

WHEREAS the 1998 legislative review report, "Not Just Numbers: A Canadian Framework for Future Immigration," commissioned by the Honourable Lucienne Robillard, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, called for the federal government to maintain an ongoing role in settlement and integration services, even as it devolves responsibility for the direct administration of these programs to the provinces; and that adequate funds be committed to ensure equitable access to settlement services; and

WHEREAS the community-based social service sector which provides the majority of settlement and immigration services is struggling to provide core services in the context of reduced budgets, more targeted government funding, staff cutbacks and organizational restructuring;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the federal government be urged to maintain an ongoing role in settlement and immigration services, ensuring adequate funding is available and targeted to the community-based service sector providing the majority of these services.