Public Infrastructure – The Progressive Economics Forum

The co-op difference: Comparing co-op and market rents in five Canadian cities

November 12, 2022 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

The Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada has just released a study comparing rents in co-op housing units to rents of similar private-sector market units in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa for the period 2006–2021. I played a small role in writing the report. A ‘top 10’ overview of the report can be found here: https://nickfalvo.ca/the-co-op-difference-comparing-co-op-and-market-rents-in-five-canadian-cities/ A French version of […]

Rough sleeping and encampments

October 18, 2022 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I’ve just released Chapter 3 of my open access e-textbook on homelessness. This chapter focuses on rough sleeping and encampments. A summary of the chapter can be found here (in English): https://nickfalvo.ca/rough-sleeping-and-encampments/ A French version of the summary can be found here: https://nickfalvo.ca/dormir-a-la-dure-et-les-campements/ The full chapter can be found here: https://nickfalvo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Falvo-Chapter-3-Rough-sleeping-and-encampments-12oct2022.pdf All material related to the e-book can be found […]

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/

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 2022 Alberta budget

March 9, 2022 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I’ve written a ‘top 10’ overview of the recent Alberta budget. My overview can be found here: https://monitormag.ca/articles/ten-things-to-know-about-the-recent-alberta-budget

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/

More supportive housing for semi-independent seniors

November 12, 2021 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives asked me for a ‘big idea.’ I wrote about the need for more supportive housing for semi-independent seniors. Here’s my submission: https://nickfalvo.ca/more-supportive-housing-for-semi-independent-seniors/

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/

Green party’s housing platform

September 16, 2021 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

With Canadians headed to the polls next week, I’ve written a 650-word overview of the Green Party’s housing platform. Here’s the link: https://nickfalvo.ca/ten-things-to-know-about-the-green-partys-housing-platform/

The bloc québécois’ housing platform

September 12, 2021 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

With Canadians heading to the polls in a federal election this month, I’ve written a 600-word overview of the Bloc Québécois’ housing platform. It’s available here: https://nickfalvo.ca/ten-things-to-know-about-the-bloc-quebecois-housing-platform/

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 NDP’s housing platform

August 17, 2021 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

With a federal election taking place in Canada on September 20, the NDP has released its platform, which includes important housing-related measures. I’ve written a ‘top 10’ overview of the housing components of the platform. My overview is available here: https://nickfalvo.ca/ten-things-to-know-about-the-federal-ndps-housing-platform/.

Canada: Ten things to know about the federal role in housing policy

April 11, 2021 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I’ve written a 750-word overview of the federal role in housing policy. The English-language version is here: https://nickfalvo.ca/canada-ten-things-to-know-about-the-federal-role-in-housing-policy/ The French-language version is here: https://nickfalvo.ca/canada-dix-faits-saillants-sur-le-role-du-federal-en-matiere-de-politique-du-logement/

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.

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.

Ten things to know about subsidized rental housing in Alberta

February 20, 2020 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

In anticipation of next week’s Alberta budget, I’ve written a ‘top 10’ overview of subsidized rental housing in the province. Points raised in the blog post in include the following: -On a per capita basis, Alberta has far fewer subsidized housing units than the rest of Canada. -In 2017, BC’s provincial government funded more than 15 times as many housing […]

My review of Robert Clark’s book on Canada’s prisons

January 17, 2020 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

Robert Clark has written a very good book about Canada’s prison system. Mr. Clark worked from 1980 until 2009 in seven different federal prisons, all located in Ontario. The book is a compilation of personal accounts based on the author’s various assignments. Since prisons can be a pipeline into homelessness, I’ve reviewed the book with great interest. My review is […]

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 […]

Ten things to know about affordable housing in Alberta

July 1, 2019 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

I’ve just written a ‘top 10’ overview blog post about affordable housing in Alberta. Points raised in the blog post include the following: -On a per capita basis, Alberta has far fewer subsidized housing units than the rest of Canada -Some Alberta cities have much more low-cost rental housing (per capita) than others. -Going forward, the impact of the federal […]

Ten things to know about this year’s Alberta Alternative Budget

June 24, 2019 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

The Alberta Alternative Budget (AAB) is an annual exercise whose working group consists of researchers, economists, and members of civil society (full disclosure: I’m the Editor). Our general mandate is to create a progressive vision for Alberta to boost economic growth and reduce income inequality. This year’s document was released today, and here are 10 things to know: The NDP […]

MEDIA RELEASE: Alberta should increase social spending; cuts are not the way to go

June 24, 2019 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

(June 24, 2019-Calgary) With Alberta’s economy still facing challenges and vulnerabilities, the Alberta government should not be doling out tax cuts or cutting social spending, according to the Alberta Alternative Budget (AAB) released today. “Alberta still has, by far, the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio of any province,” says Nick Falvo, editor of the report. “We are in a good position to […]

Supportive housing for persons with serious mental health challenges

December 23, 2018 Nick Falvo 2 comments

I’ve recently written a ‘top 10’ review of a new book on supportive housing—i.e., subsidized housing with social work support—for persons with serious mental health challenges. The book’s an anthology that was edited by three Ontario-based researchers. A key questions that emerges in the book is: Should such housing be owned and operated by for-profit providers, or by non-profit providers? […]

Ontario Electricity Sector VI – Meet the new boss…

August 8, 2018 Edgardo Sepulveda Leave a comment

The provincial election of June ended 15 years of Liberal electricity policy in Ontario. Anger over high electricity prices continued to be an election issue, contributing to the Liberal loss of power and official party status (reduced from 55 to 7 seats). The PCs have formed Government with 76 seats, while the NDP is official opposition with 40 seats, and […]

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 proposals from the 2018 Alberta Alternative Budget

March 21, 2018 Nick Falvo 3 comments

The 2018 Alberta Alternative Budget (AAB) was released yesterday—it can be downloaded here. An opinion piece I wrote about the AAB appeared yesterday in both the Calgary Herald and the Edmonton Journal. Inspired by the Alternative Federal Budget exercise, this year’s AAB was drafted by a working group consisting of individuals from the non-profit sector, labour movement and advocacy sectors. […]

Panel discussion at federal NDP policy convention

February 18, 2018 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

Yesterday I spoke on a panel discussion on economic inequality, along with Andrew Jackson and Armine Yalnizyan. We were guests at the federal NDP’s policy convention in Ottawa. The panel was moderated by Guy Caron. Topics covered included the minimum wage, basic income, affordable housing, the future of jobs, gender budgeting, poverty among seniors, Canadian fiscal policy in historical perspective, […]

Canada’s newly-unveiled National Housing Strategy

December 1, 2017 Nick Falvo Leave a comment

Over at the website of the Calgary Homeless Foundation, I’ve written a blog post about the Trudeau government’s recently-unveiled National Housing Strategy. Points raised in the post include the following: -One of the Strategy’s stated objectives is to reduce chronic homelessness in Canada by 50% over 10 years. -The Trudeau government claims that this is Canada’s “first ever” national housing […]

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