Dear editor,
The number of homeless people continues to grow in Ottawa and across Canada. This surge in homelessness is due mainly to rapidly increasing housing costs.
Tens of thousands of Canadians are sleeping in vans, living in tents or sleeping on couches while they stay with friends. Millions more Canadians struggle to pay their rent or mortgage.
In the federal budget that she will present on April 16, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland must focus on housing and ending homelessness, with a particular emphasis on providing direct financial support to those who are at greatest risk of losing their homes or are already homeless, through a Homelessness Prevention and Housing Benefit.
We know that prevention is better than cure. The government should be proactive and do more to solve this problem before it gets even worse.
Sincerely,
Peter Schmolka
