Edmonton Social Planning Council

Category: ESPC Publications: Fact Sheets

  • fACT Sheet — Zoning Bylaws and Affordable Housing

    fACT Sheet — Zoning Bylaws and Affordable Housing

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    Introduction

    Ending chronic homelessness has been a priority for Edmonton’s City Council in recent years. In 2009, the city committed to ending chronic homelessness within 10 years. Although a lot of progress has been made, they have fallen short of this original goal. Nevertheless, City Council remains committed to finding solutions. Though the state of homelessness observed in the city fluctuates, there has been an increase since the COVID-19 pandemic. As of February 2021, there are 2,038 people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton. This makes the original goal all the more critical to address, through the lens of public health and human rights.

    As part of its goal to end chronic homelessness, the Affordable Housing Investment Plan (2019-2022) aims to create 2,500 new or renovated affordable housing units across Edmonton, which includes a target of more than 916 permanent supportive housing units. Among the challenges and opportunities to better facilitate these affordable housing developments are zoning bylaws. Zoning provides a guide for municipalities in what structures are permitted to be built and where they can be built.

    In this fACT Sheet, we’ll summarize recent changes to zoning bylaws that better facilitate these affordable housing units and outline some of the remaining issues and challenges.

    Types of Non-Market Housing Developments

    When talking about affordable housing developments, it is important to understand that there are different types and designs to meet a variety of needs. The following describe some of the most common examples of affordable housing (specifically non-market housing) units that operate outside of the private market.

    Supportive housing: permanent housing for people who need assistance to live independently. Supportive housing may house people who are elderly or have disabilities, addictions, or mental health issues.

    Emergency housing: short-term shelter or accommodation that serves people who are experiencing homelessness, who are displaced, or who are fleeing violence or abuse.

    Non-profit housing: rental housing for low- and moderate-income individuals and families built by the province, municipality, or by a community group. Most tenants pay rent relative to their income; others pay rent at the low end of private market rent.

    Transitional housing: a bridge between emergency and permanent housing, often for a specified time. Transitional housing may serve people transitioning out of homelessness, those leaving the corrections system, or families receiving specialized supports.

    Co-operative housing: housing for people with low- and moderate-incomes. Residents contribute to the upkeep of the building and governance of the co-op. It can serve both lower-income households and market housing (some people with higher incomes choose housing co-ops for non-financial reasons). Some tenants pay rent relative to their income while the rest pay market rent. Some units may be modified for seniors or people with disabilities.

    Most of the recent zoning bylaw changes within Edmonton city limits affect supportive housing initiatives.

    Recent Bylaw Changes That Impact Affordable Housing Developments

    In 2019, non-profit housing providers participated in a workshop with City of Edmonton staff from the Affordable Housing and Homelessness and the Zoning Bylaw Implementation team. Valuable input was shared about the challenges and opportunities to better facilitate affordable housing developments in Edmonton.

    Since then, Edmonton City Council has passed a number of new bylaws to address many of these issues (in chronological order):

    July 15, 2019: City Council passed “Charter Bylaw 18941 Text Amendment to Zoning Bylaw 12800 to reduce barriers to Collective and Permanent Supportive Housing.” This bylaw removed regulations such as restrictions on group homes (a residence model of medical care for those with complex health needs) that placed limits on occupancy as well as removing limits on the number of individuals that can live in a lodging house (referring to a house in which rooms are rented). Restrictions were also removed on the type of building design for both group homes and lodging houses.

    August 25, 2019: City Council passed “Charter Bylaw 18967- Text Amendment to Zoning Bylaw 12800 to Enable Missing Middle Housing.” This bylaw amended medium-scale zones in order to create more opportunities for the development of various medium-scale housing options in Edmonton. The amendment introduced Use Multi-Unit Housing, defined based on the number of dwelling units on-site rather than by the form of the building or how the units were arranged. It also removed maximum densities from a number of zones, along with minimum site area and width requirements, and increased maximum floor area ratios in some zones. These changes increased the area of a site that can be developed for affordable housing.

    June 30, 2020: City Council passed “Charter Bylaw 19725 Text Amendments to Zoning Bylaw 12800 for Open Option Parking.” This bylaw removed minimum vehicle parking requirements, in addition to changes such as parking lot design and access, landscaping, stall size, loading requirements, and calculation methods to address accessibility and bicycle parking requirements. The number of on-site parking spots for new developments will now be determined by the landowner or business. This change will allow affordable housing developments to offer parking based on the unique needs of the development, thereby potentially increasing the proportion of land available for housing, on-site supports, or other complementary uses.

    November 3, 2020: City Council passed “Charter Bylaw 19490 Text Amendments to Zoning Bylaw 12800 to enable Supportive Housing developments.” The bylaw created two new use definitions for supportive housing and limited supportive housing, replacing the previous terms temporary shelter, group home, and limited group home uses. Supportive housing now describes development for residential use with on-site or off-site supports to ensure the residents’ day-to-day needs are met. This does not, however, include extended medical treatment services. Limited supportive housing specifically describes a supportive housing development with no more than six residents. Using these new definitions, a limited supportive housing developments can reasonably expect fewer visits by emergency services per month and are located in freestanding structures that are purpose-built or wholly converted for that purpose. These new definitions also provide flexibility for organizations to adapt to different forms of, and duration of, supportive housing needs.

    In addition, these amendments also add supportive housing as a listed use in a number of zones, such as commercial and urban service zones. This change will increase opportunities to develop more supportive housing—including seniors’ housing, hospice care, and temporary shelters—widely across the city and allows more flexibility in the location of new affordable housing units.

    These changes align with Policy C601 Affordable Housing Investment Guidelines. The policy seeks to ensure more opportunities for non-market developments are available across the city. It also provides direction to streamline access to affordable housing in all neighbourhoods through regulatory and procedural review and improvement, as well as other city policies such as Age Friendly Edmonton.

    Reflections and Other Concerns

    These bylaw changes that took place over the last couple of years have the potential to encourage the construction of more affordable housing developments. They can help move the city closer towards achieving its goal of ending chronic homelessness by building an adequate supply of supportive housing units. Approval process timelines for development previously posed a challenge for those wanting to get these developments off the ground; these changes and barrier reductions are an important breakthrough.

    Nevertheless, strong bylaws that create an environment more conducive to affordable housing must continue to emphasize a human-rights approach to housing. There are also challenges with a shortage of non-market housing with units that are universally accessible and barrier-free despite one in two households in Edmonton having at least one family member with at least one activity limitation. Moreover, stable funding from municipal, provincial, and federal governments is also indispensable toward building political will to see these projects through to completion.

     

    These bylaw changes have the potential to encourage more affordable housing developments and help move the city closer towards achieving their goal of ending chronic homelessness by building an adequate supply of supportive housing units.

     

     

    The Edmonton Social Planning Council is an independent, non-profit, charitable organization focused on social research.

    This fACT Sheet, prepared by the Edmonton Social Planning Council, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

    Edmonton Social Planning Council

    #200, 10544 – 106 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, T5K 1C5

    www.edmontonsocialplanning.ca

    @edmontonspc

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  • fACT Sheet — 2021 Alberta Provincial Budget

    fACT Sheet — 2021 Alberta Provincial Budget

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    Introduction

    The 2021–22 Budget, titled Protecting Lives and Livelihoods, covers the time period April 1, 2021 until March 31, 2022. This is the third budget of the governing United Conservative Party (UCP) as they enter the halfway point of their term. It is also the first budget that addresses the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upended the lives and livelihoods of Albertans as a result of the economic fallout and health impacts related to the virus.

    The focus of the budget is supporting Albertans to get through the pandemic and working towards a long-term economic recovery. Targets include investments in health care, infrastructure, and economic diversification. 

    That said, Budget 2021 still advertises low taxation as an advantage and announces no new tax increases. If Alberta had the same tax structure as the next lowest taxed provinces (Ontario and Saskatchewan), we would generate an additional $13.3 billion in revenue (2021–22).* Under-spending as a result of less revenue collected means fewer investments in public services that support Albertans.

    This fACT Sheet will focus on developments related to social programs that impact those living in low-income and poverty.

    Revenue Measures

    The previous budget, released in February 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic reached Alberta, projected $50 billion in revenue for 2020–21. However, revenue has now been projected to $42.3 billion—$7.7 billion lower than the previous estimate. This is due to a decrease in income and other taxes as well as a drop in non-renewable resource revenue. This is related to the significant economic impacts of COVID-19 and the collapse in oil demand, prices, and production. Cuts to the corporate tax rate, which decreased from 10% in January 2020 to 8% in July 2020 (a year-and-a-half sooner than originally planned) is also a factor. Notably, federal transfers from the Government of Canada are up as a source of revenue while almost all other sources are down.

    Due to these conditions and the fact that no new taxes will be introduced with Budget 2021, there will be a projected $18.2 billion deficit.

    Alberta Seniors Benefit

    The Alberta Seniors Benefit provides low-income Albertans aged 65 years or older financial assistance to help with monthly living expenses. Previously, there were plans to adjust benefit phase-out rates and eligibility thresholds for new applicants. This plan has been paused in order to maintain the same level of support for seniors through the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, the maximum monthly benefit for a single adult is $285.92 and $428.83 for a couple.

    Child Benefits

    In the 2020–21 budget, the Alberta Child Benefit and the Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit were replaced by the Alberta Child and Family Benefit, which took effect in July 2020.
    Though not in the budget document itself, shortly before its release the province announced a Working Parents Benefit. Starting March 1, parents can apply for a one-time payment of $561 per child to help with child care while they continue to work.

    Child Care

    Funding for Children’s Services is expected to remain flat over the next four years, with an operating expense of $1.7 billion in 2021–22. The child care sector has faced many challenges due to COVID-19 with closure of facilities in March 2020, then their subsequent re-opening with new public health measures to protect staff and children. As a result, funding (including some federal supports) has been reallocated to facilitate the safe re-opening of these centres. This includes $23 million in a Critical Worker Benefit for child intervention and child care programming, as well as $28 million to assist child care centres in their re-opening efforts.

    The final phase of the Early Learning and Child Care pilot (also known as the $25 a day child care program) will end on March 31, 2021. Rather than continuing the program or making it universal, child care subsidies have been revamped so that low-income families will receive higher subsidies as part of a new funding deal between the province and the federal government.

    Affordable Housing and Homelessness

    The Government of Alberta recently released the Affordable Housing Review Panel’s report, which seeks to transform the affordable housing system. The Seniors and Housing ministry is currently developing a strategic plan and redesign of the affordable housing system. The reforms will ensure its financial sustainability and capacity to respond to growing demand. There will be no large budget changes until this redesign is completed.

    However, there is still money for existing affordable housing initiatives. The government is dedicated to building 1,800 units to house individuals, families, and seniors in need of social supports and housing and to maintain units that already exist. As a result of recommendations from the review, Budget 2021 will provide a $16 million reinstatement to the Rental Assistance Program. Rental supports are critical for struggling Albertans to pay their rents.

    The Government of Alberta stated they will continue to provide over $193 million for Homeless Support and Outreach Services. However, this is slightly down from the $197 million spent in the 2019–20 fiscal year. Nevertheless, they have included funding for 500 shelter spaces in Edmonton and Red Deer.

    Addictions and Mental Health

    The budget has committed $140 million over four years to increase access to services, expand programs, and establish new publicly funded mental health and addictions treatment spaces to support 4,000 Albertans towards a path to recovery. In addition, the government announced $25 million to support construction of five therapeutic communities across Alberta as part of an integrated system that encompasses clients of the health care system, justice system, and community social services system.

    Existing supervised consumption sites across the province will receive $15.7 million in funding, a reduction of $2 million from last year due to the closure of the Lethbridge site. There is no new funding for harm reduction services, instead focusing on recovery-based services.

    Employment and Income Support

    Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH), Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) and Income Support programs, have seen lower caseloads over the past year. Many people accessing these supports had transitioned to the Canada Emegency Response Benefit (CERB), likely because the larger payments allowed them to better meet their needs. The government will continue to fund these income support programs and serve vulnerable Albertans, although there will be no funding increases.

    The government introduced benefits specially for the COVID-19 pandemic. The Critical Worker Benefit provides a one-time payment of $1,200 to individuals working on the front lines during the pandemic. People who work in health care, social services, education, and private sectors are eligible; $465 million has been dedicated for this benefit.

    The Government of Alberta is dedicated to getting people back to work. As part of its Recovery Plan, it has instituted a Labour and Talent Strategy to increase learning opportunities, expand the apprenticeship model, and enhance connections between school and industries so that young Albertans will have better job prospects. The province is also dedicating $1.5 billion over four years to key economic sectors, assuming that they will build and diversify Alberta’s economy and create new jobs.

    Drugs and Supplemental Health Benefits

    As with the previous budget, there are changes to drug programs (which include transitioning patients from higher cost biologic medications to generic versions as well as the Seniors Drug Program no longer covering spouses and dependents younger than 65 years of age). However, plans to introduce income tested deductibles were deferred and are not reflected in the new budget.

    In addition, there are funding increases to the Outpatient Cancer Therapy and Specialized High Cost Drug programs to address drug cost increases and higher patient volumes. The operating expense budget for these programs has grown to over $1.9 billion per year.

    Family and Community Support Services     

    Funding for Family and Community Support Services is being maintained at $100 million. To address pressing social challenges—particularly against the backdrop of COVID-19—the Community and Social Services ministry is providing $7 million for the Civil Society Empowerment Fund to help non-profit organizations and charities address social problems for Albertans. In addition, $13 million will be provided for sexual assault services and over $5 million will be provided for Family Violence Prevention programs.

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  • fACT Sheet — An Overview of HIV Edmonton

    fACT Sheet — An Overview of HIV Edmonton

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    Introduction

    To increase awareness of the dynamic social agencies that serve the diverse communities within Edmonton, this fACT Sheet provides a summary of HIV Edmonton and its history, mission, and the services it offers.

    About HIV Edmonton

    HIV Edmonton was founded in 1984, when the global HIV/AIDS crisis was a pressing concern, from a sense of desperation by Michael Phair and a group of close friends as Edmonton braced for its own AIDS outbreak. Originally called the AIDS Network of Edmonton, in 1999 the name changed to HIV Edmonton to better reflect advancements in the area of HIV and AIDS.

    HIV Edmonton is a harm reduction agency, working to provide the best education and prevention methods to a broad audience. Science and medicine have come a long way. However, stigma and discrimination continue to be the most significant barriers to survival, driving isolation and lack of support. These barriers continue to constrain the epidemic and are detrimental to health outcomes.

    Vision: Zero

    HIV Edmonton’s long-term vision is:

    • Zero new HIV infections,
    • Zero stigma and discrimination, and
    • Zero AIDS-related deaths.

    Support and Outreach

    HIV Edmonton provides support and outreach to people living with and affected by HIV through different programs. Many of them also experience challenges with homelessness, drug use, and food insecurity. Clients register through a referral and must provide proof of HIV status to participate in programs. Some examples of support and outreach programs offered are listed below (these are subject to change due to public health guidelines associated with the COVID-19 pandemic):

    • Collective Kitchen: a cooking circle for clients living with HIV with a strong focus on cultural inclusion, to enable them to build connections and increase their capacity to access care and support.
    • Community Connections Program: provides lunch once a week for clients to build connections with peers in their communities.
    • Drop-In Program: the drop in (when open) provides two breakfasts and one lunch a week to clients, which allows for both nutritional meals as well as an informal connector with support from staff and peers.
    • HIV and Nutrition Program: a six-session program that addresses health and well-being through nutrition and offers ways for people living with HIV to use food to develop healthier lifestyles.
    • Paint and Create Session: art is a powerful tool. These sessions, led by a resident artist twice a month for newcomer clients (immigrants and refugees) living with HIV, enable them to build connections and increase their capacity to access care and support.
    • Ross Armstrong Program: provides monthly food hampers, toiletries, vitamins, and a much-needed grocery gift card to assist with the tough end-of-month purchases for clients.

    Prevention and Education

    To build relationships and capacity within community-based organizations, alliances and networks are formed between health care professionals and the general public to support prevention efforts towards HIV and sexually transmitted blood borne infections (STBBI). HIV Edmonton reaches these varied audiences by developing educational resources and delivering programs on prevention, health promotion, and support using an equity lens to address issues that disproportionately affect communities facing unique challenges. The educational programs and workshops are listed below (note: these are subject to change).

    • Community Animator Initiative: aims to prevent new HIV infections among African Caribbean and Black Canadian populations in Edmonton by supporting individuals from the community to mobilize their communities and develop culturally appropriate health resources.
    • Community Alliance Syphilis Testing (CAST): an HIV Edmonton initiative that brings together university students, community-based organizations, and health professionals to advance syphilis testing in Edmonton and surrounding areas. CAST hopes to:
      • enhance overall collective power through active community participation;
      • build connections and capacity for mutually reinforcing activities; and
      • center the unique experiences of communities facing systemic risk for syphilis acquisition.
    • Peer Education Program: engages community members living with HIV, and those who are not, to become educators in HIV and STBBI prevention that are reflective of their communities. Sessions occur twice a month and include lessons, discussions, and teamwork to create educational materials/ strategies.
    • Presentations and Workshops:
    • Dynamics Workshop: an intensive two-day capacity building workshop about HIV and STBBI prevention aimed primarily at service providers but open to the general public. Topics covered include: the origins of HIV; the role of colonialism in the spread of HIV; the biology of HIV; HIV prevention, including harm reduction; barriers to testing, prevention, and care of people affected by HIV, including criminalization of HIV.
    • HIV Basics Presentation: 1- to 2-hour presentations provided to service providers and/or the general public about HIV and STBBI, including important discussions on health inequities, stigma, and discrimination.
    • Health Equity Workshop: a 1.5-hour presentation that explores some of the systemic and structural barriers that present unique challenges in specific communities.
    • Nursing Student Workshop: a half-day interactive workshop for nursing students to engage in discussions such as HIV and STBBIs, health inequities, and harm reduction.
    • Systems Capacity Building Approach: an organizational capacity building partnership project between HIV Edmonton and an organization/agency serving key population groups (i.e., African Caribbean and Black Canadians; Indigenous peoples). HIV Edmonton builds the partner’s organizational knowledge on effective intervention and prevention of HIV, Hepatitis C, and related STBBIs.

    Contact HIV Edmonton

    9702 111 Ave. NW
    Edmonton, AB T5G 0B1
    Toll Free Phone 1.877.388.5742
    Phone 780.488.5742
    Fax 780.488.3735
    Hours: Monday to Thursday 9:00 am – 4:30 pm; Friday 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. Closed from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm daily. If you require assistance during this hour, please ensure staff are aware you of your arrival time.
    Website: www.hivedmonton.com

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  • fACT Sheet — Basic Income: Can it Happen Here?

    fACT Sheet — Basic Income: Can it Happen Here?

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    Introduction

    The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic downturn took hold in Canada starting in March 2020, exacerbated inefficiencies in Canada’s social safety net. The federal government, to its credit, worked quickly to deliver emergency relief to millions of Canadians who found themselves suddenly jobless or furloughed. Nevertheless, this moment inspired renewed conversations on the need for a basic income as a measure to insure financial security and stability for Canadians so that sudden shocks to the economy (such as global oil price stability) can be better weathered.

    This fACT Sheet will provide an overview of basic income—highlighting examples of where it has been tried, outlining its potential benefits, and identifying areas of concern that should be taken into account when designing a program of this nature.

    What is a Basic Income?

    At its core, basic income refers to a government program that provides a certain sum of money to a country’s (or a certain geographic region’s) citizens with no strings attached. The funds are intended to provide a guaranteed income so that people are able to afford the basic needs to help them thrive (e.g. food, clothing, shelter, medicine, transportation, and community participation).

    A number of terms have been used to describe the concept, which include universal basic income, guaranteed annual income, guaranteed livable income, minimum income, and negative income tax, among others. While they all describe more or less the same concept, there are variations in how a basic income could be rolled out, depending on how the program is designed.

    In one scenario, a basic income could reach every citizen regardless of income, who would be given an equal amount of money—rich, poor, or in between (tax claw backs may apply). Other variations of the program would give those with the lowest incomes the maximum amount of money which would be gradually reduced as a person’s income level rises. Alternately, a basic income could be targeted exclusively to those living below the poverty line. Frequency of payments are typically calculated monthly or annually, depending on the program’s design.

    Where in the World Has it Been Tried?

    Basic income has been tried as a pilot program for a limited duration in various countries around the world. These experimental trials have attempted to gather data on the impact of a basic income to help inform how it could be implemented on a wider scale—assuming the results are in line with the program’s intended policy goal. Most have been conducted by governments, while a few have been administered by non-profits or private enterprises.

    Notable examples of trial locations—be it historically, currently, or with aspirations to implement it in the near future—include the following:

    Canada

    The biggest basic income experiment conducted in Canada was in Dauphin, Manitoba called “Mincome.” It ran from 1974 to 1979 with the aim to address rural poverty. About one-third of the town’s residents received a guaranteed annual income equivalent to $16,000 (figure adjusted for inflation). The experiment was abandoned when the federal and provincial government felt supporting the trial was no longer viable.

    In 2017, Ontario revived the idea and ran a basic income pilot project in three cities: Hamilton, Lindsay, and Thunder Bay. It was meant to help 4,000 people in low-income and continue for three years. However, a change in government resulted in the cancellation of the project after only one year due to concerns that it would disincentive participants from working.

    Proposals for a possible basic income program are currently being explored in Newfoundland & Labrador, Nunavut, and Prince Edward Island.

    United States

    There has been steady interest and experiments in basic income trials conducted across the U.S.—past and present.

    Notably, there are two locations with a permanent basic income program. Since 1982, Alaska has provided an annual dividend to each citizen under the Alaska Permanent Fund, which is financed by oil revenues. The amount given fluctuates depending on the price of oil, but is usually between $1,000 to $2,000 USD. In North Carolina, members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians receive a portion of the revenue from their Casino Dividend with an average of $4,000 to $6,000 USD per person each year since 1997.

    Historically, there were experiments with negative income tax programs (which provides a cash grant to those below a certain income level) to about 7,500 people across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Iowa, North Carolina, Seattle, Denver, and Gary, Indiana between 1968 and 1974.

    Currently, Stockton, California is nearing the end of an 18-month trial (finishing in January 2021), which has given $500 USD per month to 125 people. This model is being replicated through a coalition group, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, comprising leaders from 25 cities that are advocating for a basic income and building support to implement pilot programs of their own.

    Variations of the basic income concept are also being implemented for specific segments of the population, including a basic income program for artists out of work during COVID-19 in San Francisco and Long Beach, California as well as youth aging out of the foster care system in Santa Clara County, California.

    Brazil

    In 2020, 52,000 people in the city of Maricá have received 130 reais ($31 CAD) per month under the Renda Basica de Cidadania (Citizens’ Basic Income) program, which is expected to lift many above the poverty line. There is no end date.

    Finland

    In 2017, the Finnish government began a basic income trial directed at 2,000 unemployed citizens, chosen at random, which provided them with 560 euros ($865 CAD) per month for two years. They were assured continued income support even if they got a job.

    Germany

    In August 2020, Germany started a new basic income experiment with funding collected by the non-profit Mein Grundeinkommen from private donors. The experiment will give 120 people 1,200 euros ($1,855 CAD) per month for three years. Participants will fill out questionnaires to indicate how the benefit has affected their emotional well-being, home life, and work life. These responses will be compared to a control group who will not be receiving income support.

    Spain

    In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spanish government launched a basic income program in June 2020 offering payments of up to 1,015 euros ($1570 CAD) to the poorest families in the country, about 850,000 households. The aim is to continue the initiative indefinitely.

    What are the Benefits of a Basic Income?

    The challenge with measuring the impacts of a basic income is having enough data to quantify impact on the standard of living and quality of life for participants. Since the vast majority of basic income programs have been pilot projects targeted towards a limited sample size for a short period of time, it is difficult to know what the long-term impacts would be.

    Nevertheless, some of the findings from these programs suggest a strong potential for a basic income program to be an integral part of a robust social safety net. Participants have reported improvements in mental and physical health, food security, educational outcomes, employment prospects, housing security, fewer addictions, and an overall increased level of happiness and less stress. Basic income has also given individuals and families the ability to volunteer and get more involved in their community or provide care to a family member. These pilot projects have shown the potential to enable more entrepreneurship, with recipients more comfortable taking risks and start a business or take on other projects.

    Considerations for Implementing a Program

    In addition to being a malignant and persistent problem in our society, poverty is also quite costly. In Alberta alone, poverty costs between $7.1 to $9.5 billion per year for issues tied to health, justice, and social services.

    Investing in programs that benefit the lives individuals and families in low-income can ease the burden on these services. For instance, investing $1 in the first few years can save up to $9 in later costs to the health and criminal justice systems. This kind of return supports the case for a basic income program in Canada—though costly to implement in the beginning, governments would see long-term savings.

    According to the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, a basic income program in Alberta would cost around $5.3 billion to implement, while a combined federal-provincial program would cost approximately $6.1 billion.

    Final Reflections

    In principle, a basic income program has a lot of potential as a tool for poverty reduction and to build a stronger and more inclusive economy. However, the design of the program and its integration with existing government programs (whether it would replace any existing social programs?) is a pivotal and ongoing conversation. Any implementation and revision to policy must consider the best available evidence from pilot projects – past, present, and future – as they become more established worldwide.

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    • fACT Sheet — Food (In)Security During COVID-19

      fACT Sheet — Food (In)Security During COVID-19

      [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.7.0″ custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false”][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_4,1_4″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ _builder_version=”4.7.3″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” custom_margin=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding=”3px||5px|||” border_width_bottom=”1px” border_color_bottom=”#a6c942″][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_post_title meta=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”||||||||” custom_margin=”||3px|||” border_color_bottom=”#a6c942″][/et_pb_post_title][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https://edmontonsocialplanning.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/COLOUR-BLOCKS_spaced-300×51.png” title_text=”COLOUR BLOCKS_spaced” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”100%” module_alignment=”center” max_height=”50px” custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” custom_padding=”10px|0px|10px|0px|false|false”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_4,1_4″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ make_equal=”on” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” width=”100%” custom_margin=”0px|auto|0px|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”37px|0px|44px|0px|false|false”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.5.6″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” _module_preset=”default” text_font=”||||||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ custom_padding=”||32px|||”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9kYXRlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJkYXRlX2Zvcm1hdCI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJjdXN0b21fZGF0ZV9mb3JtYXQiOiIifX0=@[/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”https://edmontonsocialplanning.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/fACTsheet-Food-Security-COVID-19-1.pdf” button_text=”Download our Food Security fACT Sheet” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_bg_color=”#008ac1″ custom_margin=”||19px|||” custom_padding=”||5px|||”][/et_pb_button][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font=”||||||||” header_2_text_color=”#008ac1″ header_2_font_size=”24px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” width=”95%” module_alignment=”left” custom_margin=”44px|0px|2px|-96px|false|false” locked=”off”]

      What is Food (In)Security?

      As defined by the United Nations’ World Food Summit of 1996, food security exists when “all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet dietary needs for a productive and healthy life.”

      Food insecurity occurs when individuals or families lack access to food due to financial, physical, or social barriers. The accessibility of food can occur at community and national levels as well as within individual households. Thus, food security achieved at the community level does not necessarily prevent individuals from experiencing household food insecurity. Factors to consider when assessing food security include the availability and accessibility of food, alongside adequacy (i.e. nutritious, safe, and environmentally sustainable food) and acceptability (i.e. culturally acceptable food).

      Household food insecurity occurs due to financial constraint and exists on a spectrum that can be divided into three categories: marginal (concern about running out of food, or a limited food selection), moderate (compromise in quality or quantity of food), and severe (miss meals, reduce food intakes, or multiple days without food).

      Living with food insecurity can have detrimental impacts. According to the non-profit Community Food Centres Canada, food insecurity affects physical and mental health, relationships with loved ones and children, while also being attributed to increased social isolation, barriers in finding and maintaining employment, difficulty finding meaning and purpose in life, and impediments in the expression and sharing of culture.

      Who Is Most Impacted by Food Insecurity?

      Before the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, nearly 4.5 million Canadians were experiencing food insecurity. According to Food Banks Canada’s 2019 HungerCount, food banks across Canada had over 1 million visits, of which nearly 375,000 of them being children. In Alberta, food banks recorded over 89,000 visits, with more than 35,282 of them being children. Food bank use nationwide had stabilized with roughly the same number of visits as in 2018. Within Edmonton, 13.8% of residents were food insecure in 2017-2018. In 2019, 63,323 people received a hamper from Edmonton’s Food Bank or one of its affiliates.

      Indigenous and racialized people are also disproportionately impacted by food insecurity. Black households are 3.5 times more likely to be food insecure than white households, and almost half of all First Nations families are food insecure.

      Of those who access food banks to meet their needs, the 2019 HungerCount reported that 34% were children, 48% were single adult households, 18% were single parent households, and 57.4% were on social assistance or disability-related supports.

      COVID-19’s Impact on Food Security

      The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing food security challenges for Canadians. According to Statistics Canada, almost one in seven Canadians (14.6%) experienced food insecurity in May 2020—an increase from 10.5% just two years earlier. Canadian households with children were particularly more likely to experience food insecurity, representing nearly one in five households (19%). As a result, food bank visits increased by 20%. Notably, not everyone who is food insecure accesses a food bank, so it’s possible these numbers are even higher.

      Emergency Funding and COVID-19

      When the COVID-19 pandemic spread, all levels of government introduced a number of relief measures to help Canadians weather the public health emergency. This included funding to address food security.

      In April 2020, the Government of Canada announced $100 million in funding through the Emergency Food Security Fund to Canadian food banks and other national food rescue organizations to help improve access to food for people experiencing food insecurity. Of this funding, $50 million went to Food Banks Canada while the remainder went to Second Harvest, Community Food Centres Canada, Breakfast Club of Canada, and Salvation Army. These organizations work in the areas of food rescue, food education and advocacy, school clubs, and community meals, respectively. In October 2020, the federal government announced another $100 million in funding to address food security.

      In May 2020, the Government of Alberta gave $5 million in funding to food banks across Alberta—part of the $30 million in emergency social service support that went to more than 460 agencies.

      Locally, the Edmonton Community Foundation delivered emergency funds to various community organizations through the COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund (over $4 million) and the Emergency Community Support Fund ($2.4 million). More than $500,000 and $600,000 from these two funds, respectively, were delivered to 46 different projects that addressed food security challenges.

      Food Rescue Initiatives

      In an era when millions of Canadians experience food insecurity, diverting food waste—especially perfectly edible food that might end up in the dumpster of a grocery warehouse due—is seen as a key measure to provide emergency relief for those in need.

      In August 2020, the Government of Canada announced a $50 million investment through the Surplus Food Rescue Program to distribute food—that would otherwise go to waste—to vulnerable Canadians that would otherwise go to waste. This food surplus was one outcome of the pandemic that had forced the closure of restaurant and hospitality industries, leaving many producers without a key market for their food commodities. Not-for-profits like Food Banks Canada and Second Harvest would redistribute 12 million kilograms of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, and seafood to food insecure families that would otherwise have been wasted.

      Locally, Edmonton’s Food Bank gleans 4.8 million pounds of food waste annually, equivalent to 60—80% of its annual meals.

      Leftovers Edmonton also diverts food waste for emergency relief, and in 2019 rescued enough food to provide 164,000 meals to charity.

      The Role of Community Gardens

      While fresh food provides more nutrition than packaged or processed food, only 40% of supplies distributed to food banks is fresh. As a result, community gardens have seen renewed interest.

      The University of Alberta’s Campus Community Garden, located in the East Campus Village since 2003, promotes urban agriculture by teaching campus community members sustainable gardening practices. It also contributes to food security by providing a portion of its harvest to the Campus Food Bank.

      The use of community gardens as a way to enable greater access to locally grown food and mitigating any potential disruptions to the global supply chain also saw increased interest as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.

      In response, the City of Edmonton launched the Pop-Up Community Gardens Pilot in the spring of 2020, adding 350 garden plots in 29 temporary garden sites, designed to give residents a chance to start gardening or expand on an existing one. The city provided the planter boxes and soil to each site while gardeners were responsible for plants, seeds, and tools. Sites were chosen based on the number of grocery stores and/or the number of multi-family buildings within the neighbourhood. These gardens have the potential to increase food education, strengthen gardening skills, and enable more consumption of nutritious fruits and vegetables.

      While these pilot initiatives demonstrate positive outcomes like social connectedness, healthier eating habits, improved mental health, and increased physical activity, they are unlikely to significantly impact food insecurity rates in Canada.

      Multicultural Responses to Food Insecurity

      Food insecurity disproportionately impacts Indigenous, newcomer, and racialized populations in Canada. It’s important, therefore, that food security measures are responsive to their needs as they are more likely to experience social isolation due to food insecurity. Within Edmonton, a number of new initiatives aim to address these concerns.

      Food hamper programs were set up by organizations such as the Somali Canadian Education and Rural Development Organization (SCERDO) and the African Diaspora COVID-19 Response. This response team was set up by the Africa Centre in collaboration with ten other groups within the African community providing food hampers to their members in order to gain better access to nutrition (which includes providing culturally relevant foods like injera and yucca powder). They also help members to navigate government support programs, provide psychosocial and emotional support, as well as career support for those facing job loss.

      In addition, the C5: Collaborative for Change (Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, Boyle Street Community Services, Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre and Terra Centre for Teen Parents) set up a food hamper program in response to the pandemic, delivering food to 550 families—2,000 individuals every two weeks.

      These measures are in addition to the ongoing services that existed before the pandemic. For example, the Multicultural Health Brokers Co-op has a Grocery Run Program. This program is designed to address food security challenges among immigrant and refugee communities (particularly perinatal, pregnant, and post-partum women) as a result of barriers to transportation, language, or unfamiliarity with mainstream food products. The program has seen an increase from 100 to now 450 families accessing the program each week.

      Food insecurity in Canada is primarily linked to income or financial insecurity.

      Final Reflections

      The reasons individuals and families experience food insecurity are complex, and include physical, economic, and social barriers. Within Canada, food insecurity is primarily linked to income or financial insecurity: unemployment, low-wage or precarious jobs, and social assistance rates that do not provide a livable income for recipients.

      Measures to provide immediate food relief for emergency situations are important and valuable work, but long-term policies to address income insecurity must also be part of the solution to tackle food security both during and beyond, a global pandemic. These measures include a living wage, universal basic income, and protection from sudden changes or shocks to income sources.

       

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    • fACT Sheet – Jobless Benefits During COVID-19

      fACT Sheet – Jobless Benefits During COVID-19

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      Introduction

      The COVID-19 pandemic upended Canada’s economy when public health measures forced the closure of businesses, and millions of Canadians lost their jobs or saw their incomes greatly decrease. It was immediately clear in the wake of this that the eligibility criteria for Employment Insurance (EI)—a federal program which delivers temporary benefits to workers experiencing job loss—was inadequate to cover living costs for the millions of Canadians who were unemployed or working in precarious arrangements.

      As a result, the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was implemented in April 2020 to address these gaps. About 4 million Canadians, as of August 2020, were receiving CERB benefits. The program was discontinued on September 27, 2020, with plans to transition these recipients to a modified version of the EI program.

      In light of these developments, this fACT Sheet assesses the state of jobless benefits in Canada.

      Overview and History of Employment Insurance

      Canada first implemented jobless benefits in 1940, then known as Unemployment Insurance (UI). At the time, the program covered non-government regular workers with incomes under $2,000 (about 40% of the labour force), but excluded some categories of workers like seasonal workers most likely to experience unemployment. Eligibility requirements to receive benefits was 180 days of employment or 30 weeks (assuming a 6-day work week). A recipient of UI would receive a wage replacement rate of roughly 60% for the duration of one year if they had previously had five years of continuous employment.

      In subsequent years, UI coverage and benefits expanded to include supplemental seasonal benefits as well as assistance for returning soldiers after the Second World War. In the 1950s and 1960s, UI coverage extended to self-employed fishers, and included the introduction of modest sickness benefits and a reduction in the eligibility requirement from 30 to 24 weeks. These changes covered about two-thirds of the labour force.

      The UI program was at its most generous by 1971 when coverage was nearly universal, covering 96% of wage- and salary-earning workers. Recipients were given a maximum 75% of insured earnings for those with dependents, and 66% for those without. Eligibility to receive UI was reduced from 24 to 8 weeks. In addition, UI expanded for different benefit categories, such as maternity leave, sickness, and retirement.

      Erosion of EI Supports and Eligibility

      With concerns over the increasing costs of program administration, governments began chipping away at benefit rates and criteria for eligibility in the mid-1970s. The maximum benefit rate was reduced to 66% in 1975, and a region-based eligibility criteria was introduced in 1977. This meant that the change in eligibility was based on the local unemployment rate (i.e. if the unemployment rate was high, the eligibility threshold would be low; if the unemployment rate was low, the eligibility threshold would be higher). In 1978, eligibility to receive UI increased to 20 weeks of recent employment, and the benefit rate was cut to 60%.

      The UI program was further weakened with new measures in the 1990s. The benefit rate was cut further from 60% to 57% for all claimants in 1993, and was reduced again from 57% to 55% in 1994.

      In 1996, the program was renamed to Employment Insurance. Alongside the name change, the minimum number of hours worked jumped from 180 (12 weeks at a minimum of 15 hours a week) to 420 hours over those same weeks (an average of 35 hours a week).

      By this point, only 42% of unemployed workers were now eligible for benefits. In addition, high-income earners were eligible for more EI benefits (a maximum of $573 per week) while low-income and precarious workers received fewer benefits.

      This erosion of benefits, while a challenge for the unemployed in the best of times, was simply untenable by the time the public health emergency upended the livelihoods of millions of workers in Canada.

      Canada Emergency Response Benefit

      Due to decades of erosion and eligibility criteria changes to EI benefits, and now the COVID-19 pandemic—a surge in applications for income support from jobless or furloughed Canadian workers—showed that the federal government was ill-prepared for such a situation. This was especially compounded by an increase in precarious working arrangements in the so-called “gig economy”—those working low-wage jobs with inconsistent or uncertain hours, many of whom are not typically eligible for EI.

      In response, the federal government introduced CERB, providing $2,000 per month in benefits to eligible applicants. To qualify, an applicant must have resided in Canada and be at least 15 years old, earned at least $5,000 in the previous year, and stopped working due to the pandemic. Those still working but who experienced a drop in working hours and income could still claim the benefit if their monthly employment income was less than $1,000.

      While CERB represented a pay cut for modest- and high-income workers (which amounts to $500 per week compared to the maximum of $573 per week for EI), the benefit was a pay raise for low-income workers who previously would have received EI benefits of less than $500.

      As of September 27, 2020, there were over 8.8 million unique applicants who had received the benefit at some point since the program began in April, with a total of $80.6 billion in benefits delivered across Canada. Over 1 million of these applicants were in Alberta.

      While the program was originally conceived as a temporary measure, it saw periodic extensions throughout the spring and summer of 2020. Finally, in August 2020, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced that CERB would wind down by September 27, 2020.

      Transitioning to a post-CERB Environment

      By the end of September 2020, the government transitioned roughly four million Canadians from CERB to other income support programs, including a modified version of EI. This was an attempt to make benefits available to more Canadians, especially those who would not have previously qualified for EI, adding more than 400,000 people into the system. The modified EI was initially set with a $400-a-week benefit floor, and its eligibility requirements have been reduced to 120 insurable hours. However, in response to pressure from the NDP opposition, the benefit has been increased to $500 a week.

      Those who have not transitioned to EI will be eligible for a suite of new benefit programs: the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB), and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB). Applications for the CRB open October 12, 2020, while applications for the CRSB and the CRCB are now available.*

      The CRB will provide a benefit amount of $500 per week for up to 26 weeks for workers who are not eligible for EI, mainly the self-employed and those working in the gig economy. The CRSB will provide $500 per week, for up to 2 weeks, for employees who are unable to work because they are sick or must self-isolate due to COVID-19. The CRCB will provide $500 per week, for up to 26 weeks, for households providing care to a family member who is unable to attend a school, daycare, day program, or care facility due to closure or an increased risk if they contract the virus.

      According to an analysis from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the initial plan would have left 2.7 million CERB recipients financially worse off after the discontinuation of CERB. Recent policy changes for a modified EI and more generous CRB benefits means that about 1.8 million Canadians will now receive more money. These policy changes benefits women in particular, resulting in 1.2 million women receiving the same $500 a week benefit. About 167,000 recipients would have earned much less due to EI benefit claw back benefits of 50% for every dollar earned in employment income. Nevertheless, about 750,000 Canadians would not have received any support from any of the federal programs.

      Within Edmonton, of the 139,000 current CERB recipients, about 42,000 of them will still be financially worse-off, 69,000 will fare the same, and 28,000 will be better-off.

      Conclusion

      In hindsight, the decades long erosion of EI benefits and eligibility criteria before the pandemic made the circumstances of low-wage workers increasingly precarious. The implementation of CERB provided a necessary floor for these workers during the temporary closure of businesses. While the capacity for policy change and revision is now focused on ensuring that more workers will receive support than initially planned, it’s clear more progress is needed to see these benefits return to a level similar to 1971, when access to these benefits was nearly universal. The pandemic has made it very clear that we need to improve our social safety nets.

      *Note: details on these benefits continues to evolve. The information in this fACT Sheet is current as of October 8, 2020. Please consult Government of Canada websites for the most up-to-date information.

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