Feds say Alberta didn’t respond to offer to help with homelessness, province denies formal offer made

The national authorities says Alberta is 1 of 3 provinces that person yet to formally respond to a missive offering caller assistance connected issues relating to homelessness and stateless encampments, a assertion Alberta’s lodging curate suggests is inaccurate.

In a connection issued Tuesday, national Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Sean Fraser said his authorities volition “no longer hold for them to muster the governmental volition to enactment arsenic wintertime gets person and lives are enactment astatine risk.”

According to Fraser, his connection was sent to each provinces and territories connected Sept. 18 and asked them to “partner with the national authorities to urgently find structure for those experiencing homelessness oregon surviving successful encampments.”

Fraser said his authorities believes provincial governments were fixed capable clip to respond to the connection and that “there is nary clip to wait” arsenic wintertime approaches. He said helium besides has yet to person a effect from Saskatchewan and Ontario.

“In the letter, we offered millions of dollars successful further backing successful speech for partnering with america and matching our contributions,” Fraser said. “The backing connected connection is the $250 cardinal we announced to code the urgent contented of encampments and unsheltered homelessness successful Budget 2024.”

Global News reached retired to the Alberta authorities for remark connected Fraser’s statement. In response, Alberta’s Seniors, Community and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon said the missive sent connected Sept. 18 initiated “a readying treatment for national encampment money” but “was not an offer.”

“At nary constituent was a deadline provided to the state to respond to encampment funding,” helium said. “However, Alberta did respond instantly to the connection for treatment and officials from some governments person met regularly to sermon the champion usage of these funds, including arsenic precocious arsenic Monday.

“It is disappointing, but sadly not surprising, to spot that the national authorities is playing authorities with susceptible Albertans.”

Fraser said his authorities is present approaching municipalities straight to enactment with them.

“If a state oregon territory partners with us, they volition beryllium capable to prime the communities that volition get backing from us,” helium said. “Should they privation to forego a concern with us, we volition trust connected the champion disposable information to pass our decisions.

“We volition attack 5 cities archetypal fixed their readiness to rapidly follow cost-matched responses. They are: Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Regina, and Saskatoon. This database is not exhaustive, arsenic we volition beryllium approaching much communities that person demonstrated an quality to rapidly respond to encampments.”

Alberta’s Opposition lodging professional issued a connection astir the contented connected Wednesday and said she believes the province’s UCP authorities is “picking fights” with the national authorities astatine citizens’ expense.

“It’s outrageous that the UCP would willingly permission wealth connected the array that would assistance Albertans find homes and trim encampments,” Janis Irwin’s connection work successful part. “With a grounds fig of unhoused radical successful Edmonton pursuing a grounds fig of Albertans dying past twelvemonth connected the streets, it’s captious to usage each instrumentality to assistance code this crisis.

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“Rural communities are besides facing these aforesaid issues, and by refusing to enactment with the national government, the UCP is leaving these communities without support.”

Earlier this month, an inaugural was undertaken in a fig of Alberta’s cities and towns to effort to number the existent fig of radical experiencing homelessness.

In May, the non-profit enactment Homeward Trust Edmonton estimated that astir 3,200 radical successful Alberta’s superior were experiencing homelessness. Homeless advocates successful Alberta person said the fig of radical experiencing homelessness began to emergence successful 2017 and doubled implicit the people of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In July, Edmonton metropolis assembly voted to o.k. a question enactment guardant by Coun. Andrew Knack calling for the metropolis to enactment with the provincial authorities connected a modulation strategy for lodging and homelessness services that are funded by the metropolis but autumn nether provincial jurisdiction.

Knack told Global News that 302 radical died connected the streets of Edmonton successful 2023, a important leap from 37 deaths reported successful 2019. He said metropolis assembly has funded millions of dollars worthy of patchwork solutions to homelessness. He said astir of those bash not autumn nether the city’s jurisdiction, but the enactment is not being co-ordinated with the province.

After that vote, a spokesperson for Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver said if the metropolis provides an itemized database of programs oregon services for which it wants provincial funding, the authorities volition reappraisal it and sermon the inquire with metropolis officials.