As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.

Recommendation 1

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation ensures the allocation of National Housing Strategy funds prioritizes populations most at risk of housing need and homelessness, including through the seeking of new allocation of funds to the Rapid Housing Initiative.

Recommendation 2

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation consider measures to enhance the implementation of the Government of Canada’s commitment to a human rights-based housing policy through its delivery of National Housing Strategy programs.

Recommendation 3

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation ensures the National Housing Co-Investment Fund addresses the needs across all regions of Canada.

Recommendation 4

That, with a view to facilitating the creation of affordable housing units under the National Housing Co-Investment Fund and the Rapid Housing Initiative, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation:

• assess the impact of current per-unit funding caps on the viability of projects in the context of elevated construction and borrowing costs, and with consideration for different types of organizations; and
• lift the current maximum available funding per unit for the National Housing Co-Investment Fund.

Recommendation 5

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation continue to improve the support to applicants, including by making improvements to application processes for funding under the National Housing Strategy, with a view to improving the frequency and transparency of communication with applicants, simplifying and clarifying language in program applications, and clarifying what exactly is expected from applicants at each stage of the application process.

Recommendation 6

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation track the end to end processing timelines, beginning with the application date to the disbursement of funds, including key steps in the process with a view of setting goals for improvement, and that process improvement goals be established within six months of this report and be included in annual reports going forward.

Recommendation 7

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation publicly report on the proportion of units funded under the National Housing Strategy, by program and by province and territory, and overall total, that meet the affordability criteria for each National Housing Strategy program and that cost less than 30% of the occupying household’s before-tax income.

Recommendation 8

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation review the affordability criteria for different programs under the National Housing Strategy, with a view to ensuring that the proportion of affordable housing units created, and the level of affordability of those units, adequately reflects the needs of people in Canada and meets the needs of people in core need.

Recommendation 9

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation assess the impact of its programs on vulnerable groups at all stages of its National Housing Strategy initiatives.

Recommendation 10

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation provide a detailed assessment of the effectiveness of each bilateral agreement with the provinces and territories. That the assessment include recommendations to improve the existing agreements with the purpose of leveraging additional affordable housing supply with provincial and territorial partners.

Recommendation 11

That the Government of Canada, as soon as is feasible, and before December 2023, clarify accountability at the federal level for achieving the Government of Canada’s homelessness reduction target (namely, the reduction of chronic homelessness by 50% by 2027–2028); and further, that it ensure sufficient programming is in place to achieve this target.

Recommendation 12

That in order to reach the Government of Canada’s own target of reducing chronic homelessness by 50% by 2027–2028, that the Government of Canada show leadership by taking a whole of government approach, in collaboration with provinces and territories, to ensure wrap around services and other supports are made available to the those in need, and report back to the committee no later than December 2023 on a plan on how the government will achieve this goal.

Recommendation 13

That to ensure the Government of Canada meets its own target of reducing chronic homelessness by 50% by 2027–2028 that the Government of Canada take a whole of government approach, in collaboration with provinces and territories, to this directive and report back to the Committee no later than December 2023 on a plan on how the government will achieve this goal.

Recommendation 14

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation report back to the committee on how the specific targets established for the National Housing Strategy will fail to meet the government’s overall vision for the National Housing Strategy that everyone in Canada has a home that they can afford that meets their needs and indicate what corrective action is needed by the Federal government to meet this public policy.

Recommendation 15

That the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation continue to work with Statistics Canada to improve the availability of disaggregated data on who is served by units funded under the National Housing Strategy, including people at risk of experiencing homelessness and other target populations identified during the application stage, as well as who ultimately occupies the unit.