Municipalities – The Progressive Economics Forum

Theory and homelessness

September 6, 2022 Nick Falvo One comment

I’m writing an open access e-textbook on homelessness. Chapter 2, focused on theory, has just been published. The full chapter is available here: https://nickfalvo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Falvo-Chapter-2-Theory-and-homelessness-19aug2022.pdf A ‘top 10’ overview of the chapter can be found here: https://nickfalvo.ca/theory-and-homelessness%ef%bf%bc/ A French version of the ‘top 10’ overview can be found here: https://nickfalvo.ca/theorie-et-itinerance/ All material related to the book is free of charge and […]

Canada’s 2022 federal budget

April 19, 2022 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

Canada’s 2022 federal budget had a very strong housing focus. I’ve written a ‘top 10’ overview of the budget here: https://nickfalvo.ca/canadas-2022-federal-budget-was-a-housing-budget/

What can municipalities do about homelessness?

April 6, 2022 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I recently contributed an essay to a paper series published by the University of Toronto’s Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance. The focus of my own essay is the role Canadian municipalities can play in addressing homelessness. A ‘top 10’ overview of the essay can be found here (in English): https://nickfalvo.ca/what-can-municipalities-do-about-homelessness/ A ‘top 10’ overview of the essay can be […]

Guest editorial: Homelessness in Canada

March 23, 2022 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I’ve written the guest editorial for a special edition of the International Journal on Homelessness. The guest editorial provides a general overview of homelessness in Canada (and I believe it serves as a helpful stand-alone reading for practitioners, researchers, students and advocates). My guest editorial can be found here (in English): https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/ijoh/article/view/14810/11659 My guest editorial can be found here (in […]

The Minister of Housing’s Mandate Letter

January 10, 2022 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

On 16 December 2021, mandate letters for Canada’s federal ministers were made public. The letter for Canada’s Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion contains an important set of marching orders. I break it down in this ‘top 10’ blog post: https://nickfalvo.ca/the-minister-of-housings-mandate-letter/

COVID and Homelessness: Ten things to know

December 9, 2021 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I was recently invited by the The Economics Society of Northern Alberta to speak at their 2022 Outlook Conference about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on homelessness. Here’s an overview of my presentation: https://nickfalvo.ca/covid-and-homelessness-ten-things-to-know/

A 13-city scan of homelessness planning

October 20, 2021 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I’ve just written a 13-city scan of homelessness planning across Canada. A summary of the report is available here: https://nickfalvo.ca/innovation-in-homelessness-system-planning-a-scan-of-13-canadian-cities/

Liberal party’s housing platform

September 1, 2021 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

With a federal election taking place in Canada in fewer than three weeks, I’ve written a 950-word overview of the Liberal Party’s housing platform. It’s available here: https://nickfalvo.ca/ten-things-to-know-about-the-liberal-partys-housing-platform/

the federal Conservatives’ housing platform

August 23, 2021 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

With a federal election taking place in Canada on September 20, I’ve written an 800-word overview of the Conservatives’ housing platform. It’s available here: https://nickfalvo.ca/ten-things-to-know-about-the-federal-conservatives-housing-platform

the recession’s likely long-term impact on homelessness

December 10, 2020 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I’ve just written a report for Employment and Social Development Canada on the current recession’s likely long-term impact on homelessness in Canada. An overview of the report can be found here.

Homelessness planning during covid

December 7, 2020 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

The Calgary Homeless Foundation has just released a 12-city scan of homelessness planning during COVID. It’s a national study (which I authored). My ‘top 10’ overview of the study can be found here.

Homelessness in canada could rise due to recession

September 25, 2020 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I am currently writing a report for Employment and Social Development Canada looking at the long-term impact of the current recession on homelessness. It should be ready by early November. In the meantime, a teaser blog post I’ve just written on the same topic is available here.

Trudeau government should spend more on affordable housing and homelessness

July 22, 2020 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

On July 21, the Alternative Federal Budget Recovery Plan was released. The document aims to provide public policy direction to Canada’s federal government, in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. I was author of the Recovery Plan’s chapter on affordable housing and homelessness, which can be accessed here.

David Hulchanski class discussion

June 21, 2020 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I recently participated in a panel discussion in David Hulchanski’s graduate-level social housing and homelessness course at the University of Toronto. Points raised in the blog post include the fact that all English-speaking countries of the OECD have relatively low levels of public social spending, relatively low levels of taxation, and serious affordable housing challenges. The link to the full […]

Affordable housing, homelessness and the upcoming federal budget

March 19, 2020 Nick Falvo One comment

I’ve written a ‘top 10’ overview of things to know about affordable housing and homelessness, as they relate to Canada’s upcoming federal budget. The overview is based on the affordable housing and homelessness chapter in the just-released Alternative Federal Budget. A link to the ‘top 10’ overview is here.

Cost savings associated with Housing First

March 5, 2020 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I’ve written a summary of a recent study I co-authored on savings to the health and justice sectors associated with Housing First (i.e., the immediate provision of subsidized housing, along with social work support, to persons experiencing long-term homelessness). The study, based on a large sample size from Calgary, finds that every $1 spent on Housing First is associated with […]

income support for low-income households in Alberta

February 21, 2020 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

Next week, Jason Kenney’s UCP government will table its second budget. With that in mind, I’ve written a blog post titled “Ten things to know about income support for low-income households in Alberta.” Points raised in the blog post include the following: -Low income is associated with lower food expenditures, including fewer purchases of milk, fruits and vegetables. -Lone-parent families […]

Assessing progress on St. John’s Plan to End Homelessness

December 29, 2019 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I’ve written an assessment of the 2014-2019 St. John’s Community Plan to End Homelessness. The full assessment can be found here. Points raised in the assessment include the following: -Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest unemployment rate of any Canadian province. This pulls people into homelessness, while also making it more challenging for the provincial government to finance policy asks […]

Ten things to know about the 2019-20 Alberta budget

November 4, 2019 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I’ve just written a ‘top 10’ overview of the recent Alberta budget. Points raised in the post include the following: -The budget lays out a four-year strategy of spending cuts, letting population growth and inflation do much of the heavy lifting. -After one accounts for both population growth and inflation, annual provincial spending in Alberta by 2022 is projected to […]

Ending homelessness in St. John’s: Ten things to know

October 17, 2019 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I’m co-author of a recent blog post about the fight to end homelessness in St. John’s (Newfoundland and Labrador). Points raised in the blog post include the following: -Recent increases in federal funding for homelessness have made a very important difference to St. John’s homeless-serving sector. I’m referring here to increases brought in by the Trudeau government. -The corrections sector […]

The use of homeless shelters by Indigenous peoples in Canada

October 4, 2019 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I’ve written a blog post about the use of homeless shelters by Indigenous peoples in Canada. The post is inspired by recently-accessed, internal analysis done by staff at Employment and Social Development Canada. One point raised in the blog post is that there is no clear indication from the presentation of the analysis that Indigenous peoples or groups were engaged […]

Trudeau’s proposed speculation tax

September 25, 2019 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I’ve written a blog post about the Trudeau Liberals’ recently-proposed speculation tax on residential real estate owned by non-resident, non-Canadians. The full blog post can be accessed here.

My review of Eric Weissman’s book on intentional homeless communities

July 20, 2019 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I’ve just reviewed Eric Weissman’s book on intentional homeless communities. Points made in the review include the following: -Intentional communities in general are communities built around specific goals. But in the case of this book, I mean small communities of housing sometimes made from discarded, donated and recycled material, and sometimes purpose-built, to address homelessness. -Intentional communities are not the […]

Homelessness, harm reduction and Housing First

May 21, 2019 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I was recently invited to give a presentation at a two-day event discussing the overdose crisis and First Nations, with a focus on southern Alberta. My presentation focused on homelessness, substance use, harm reduction and Housing First. To read the blog post synthesizing my presentation’s key points, click on this link.

Carey Doberstein’s book on homelessness governance

June 7, 2018 Nick Falvo One comment

I’ve just reviewed Professor Carey Doberstein’s book on homelessness governance (UBC Press). The book looks at the way decisions were made pertaining to funding for homelessness programs in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto during the 1995-2015 period. Points raised in my review include the following: -Homelessness trends look quite different across the three cities. For example, it can be growing in […]

Newly-signed FPT housing framework agreement

April 12, 2018 Nick Falvo One comment

I’ve just written a blog post about the newly-signed federal-provincial-territorial housing framework agreement. This agreement builds on (and helps move forward) Canada’s National Housing Strategy, which was released last fall. One of the points made in the blog post is that the federal government’s stated objective of removing approximately half-a-million households from core housing need is very ambitious, in light […]

Ten considerations for the next Alberta budget

November 29, 2017 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

On November 17, the working group of the Alberta Alternative Budget (AAB) sponsored a one-day workshop at the University of Alberta. The event’s main purpose was to discuss recent developments in Alberta public policy, as well as expectations for the upcoming Alberta budget. Twenty speakers presented in total. In light of what was discussed at the event, here are 10 […]

Why Toronto needs a national housing strategy

November 11, 2017 Nick Falvo One comment

Dr. Colin Phillips is an up-and-coming scholar in Canada’s homelessness sector. He has an opinion piece in today’s Toronto Star titled “Why Toronto needs a national housing strategy.” Points made in the opinion piece include the following: -The City of Toronto has worked hard to develop good practices on the ground to address homelessness. -But, like all of Canada’s major […]

Second Annual Canadian Homelessness Data Sharing Initiative

July 5, 2017 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I’ve just blogged about the Second Annual Canadian Homelessness Data Sharing Initiative. This is now an annual event that takes place in Calgary. It’s co-sponsored by the Calgary Homeless Foundation and the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy. A summary of the inaugural event (which took place in May 2016) can be found here, while the link to the […]

1 2 »