Fiscal Federalism

Housing First refers to the provision of deeply subsidized permanent housing, combined with social work support, to a person who has experienced long-term homelessness. It’s often claimed that this approach literally saves money. But is that claim valid? I break it down here: https://nickfalvo.ca/does-housing-first-literally-save-money/

I recently served as a subject matter expert for an audit of supportive housing undertaken by the City of Ottawa’s Office of the Auditor General. Here are 10 things know:

I’ve written a book chapter on the COVID-19 pandemic and homelessness planning in Canada. Here’s a ‘top 10’ overview:https://nickfalvo.ca/covid-19-and-homelessness-planning-in-canada/

I recently led a research study comparing spending by large Canadian municipalities on homeless-related services and affordable housing. Here’s a ‘top 10’ overview of the study:https://nickfalvo.ca/comparating-municipal-spending-on-housing-and-homelessness-in-canadas-major-cities/

I’ve written a blog post titled “Canada’s 2024 federal budget: What’s in it for rental housing and homelessness?” The English version is here: https://nickfalvo.ca/canadas-2024-federal-budget-whats-in-it-for-rental-housing-and-homelessness/ The French version is here: https://nickfalvo.ca/le-budget-federal-2024-quels-sont-les-avantages-our-le-logement-locatif-et-litinerance/

I’ve written a blog post about what Canada’s recent federal budget did for housing and homelessness (which wasn’t very much). Here’s my analysis: https://nickfalvo.ca/canadas-2023-federal-budget/

I’ve written a book chapter on subsidized rental housing and homelessness under Alberta’s first UCP government. My ‘top 5’ overview of the chapter is available here: https://nickfalvo.ca/subsidized-rental-housing-and-homelessness-under-albertas-first-ucp-government/

I’ve written a ‘top 10’ overview of things to know about affordable housing and homelessness, as they relate to Canada’s upcoming federal budget. The overview is based on the affordable housing and homelessness chapter in the just-released Alternative Federal Budget. A link to the ‘top 10’ overview is here.

On July 21, the Alternative Federal Budget Recovery Plan was released. The document aims to provide public policy direction to Canada’s federal government, in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. I was author of the Recovery Plan’s chapter on affordable housing and homelessness, which can be accessed here.

I am currently writing a report for Employment and Social Development Canada looking at the long-term impact of the current recession on homelessness. It should be ready by early November. In the meantime, a teaser blog post I’ve just written on the same topic is available here.