No political will to end this crisis

Carol Goar

The early shock and disbelief have faded. A demoralizing inertia has set in.

Hoping to re-energize Canadians, New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton has just issued an updated edition of his millennial book, Homelessness: The Making and Unmaking of a Crisis. The new version is called Homelessness: How to End the National Crisis.

Layton wrote the original as a Toronto city councillor and president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. It charted an alarming new trend: the rise of mass homelessness in Canada. But it ended on a note of hope. Community groups were mobilizing, big-city mayors were speaking out, citizens were opening church basements, distributing sleeping bags and telling their political leaders this wasn't the kind of Canada they wanted to live in.

He wrote the sequel as leader of the NDP. The momentum had petered out. City dwellers had become inured to picking their way around sleeping bags at night. Four to five families were crammed into a substandard house in northern communities. Volunteers and community activists were wondering what – if anything – they could do to turn the tide. Once again, Layton ended the book on an upbeat note. But this time, it was rooted in faith, not facts. "I'm more convinced than ever that we can end this crisis," he wrote. "I'm more convinced than ever that we must do so." MORE