By Sara Ditta
Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar says that housing will be high on his list of many priorities during the current session of Parliament.
“Housing is the number one issue that we have to deal with immediately,” says Dewar.
This summer, Dewar participated in the NDP push to expose Conservative government plans to cut the funding of the Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative by $1 million in Ottawa.
“This is money that helps those who are the most vulnerable,” says Dewar. “It pays for what I call ‘supportive housing’ programs which help people get back on their feet.”
The promised funds were restored in August, but Dewar says that more still needs to be done.
Dewar believes that the partnership is especially important in Centretown.
“If you just walk down the streets of Centretown you’ll see … that’s where people who are homeless go to get help,” says Dewar.
The partnership was launched by the federal government in 1999 to support the homeless. After a three-year commitment, it was renewed in 2003. The funding is now confirmed until March 31, 2007, but there is no indication of another extension.
“What we’re hearing now is that at the end of this fiscal year that program may be gone,” says Dewar. “It’s going to require me as a member of Parliament to push now for it to make sure it’s not missed in the upcoming budget.”
At Centre 507, a drop-in centre for the homeless on Bank Street, partnership funding is indispensable. It is specifically used for a life skills management program to prepare unemployed people for the workforce.
“It’s a critical piece of funding for us and specifically for that program,” says Caroline Ann Giekes, the manager of Centre 507. “It allows us to enrich the services that we already provide.”
According to Giekes, the program would likely be unable to continue without funds from the partnership.
“It would certainly be a shame if [the funding] did end,” she said. “The impact would be tangible.”
Dewar notes that the partnership is essential because the city is seeing a rise in homelessness.
“We want to keep at least what we already have in terms of supportive housing, and then build more affordable housing as well.”
According to Dewar, more than 4,000 people have been on a waiting list for affordable housing during the last few years. He wants to make sure that more money will be provided for affordable housing to help first-time homeowners and new Canadians.
Other local issues on Dewar’s agenda are reform of the National Capital Commission to open it to citizens and redevelop the LeBreton Flats in a sustainable manner.
Another “green issue” Dewar will tackle this fall is climate change at a public forum.
Nationally, Dewar also wants to open up the debate about events in Afghanistan. He considers it a failed mission and wants to discuss alternatives.
“We’re not talking about abandoning Afghanistan, but we want to do something that works.”
Other issues Dewar and the NDP are planning to address include a consistently positive stance on same-sex marriage, providing more care for seniors, putting forward a comprehensive, non-profit child-care policy, working on foreign credential recognition and the softwood “sell-out”.
“We’ll be standing up against the Conservatives on the issues we believe haven’t been dealt with really credibly for Canadians,” says Dewar. “We see ourselves as the real opposition right now in the House of Commons.”