Grieving for greenbacks

>> Montreal homeless groups sizzle as federal grant fizzles

by CRAIG SEGAL

Homeless representatives stormed out of negotiations with the Montreal Regional Health Board last week, alleging that a multi-million dollar federal homeless fund is being mismanaged right down the gutter.

Following a homeless "state of emergency" in Toronto in 1999, the federal government created a $753-million fund to get derelicts across Canada out of the dirt and into an edifice. Montreal homeless representatives still haven't seen a cent of their share, and as the deal's deadline nears, the groups say their promised $56.7-million slice of the pie is shrinking before their eyes.

Wrangling over the paperwork between Ottawa and Quebec delayed the distribution process a year and a half, and now, groups say it will be impossible to hand out all the money.

That's because the money gets approved on a per project basis. If the government is not convinced of the necessity of a project, then no money is granted. Since the spending deadline--set for March 31, 2003--has not been extended, homeless reps now have half the time to convince the various levels of government. Meanwhile, other cities have already dipped into the fund. "In Montreal it's not as easy to spend the funding as it is in Toronto," says Isabelle Gentés of RAPSIM, an umbrella group of 59 community and homeless organizations.

"The project was designed for Toronto, to get the homeless off the streets. Montreal has homeless shelters, but no money to fund them."

Ideally Gentés wishes the federal government would simply deposit the cash in a bank account for groups to withdraw as needed, but the current contract does not allow for that. The groups have to first get their projects approved by the Montreal Regional Health Board, which then sends it off to a bunch of other committees.

The Health Board's Denis Boivin admits getting all the projects approved by 2003 is "next to impossible." "It would be a good idea to put the money in the bank and spend it annually," says Boivin. "But is it possible? No."

On top of the deadline, groups argue that the negotiation process itself is flawed. Homeless representatives ended discussions with the Health Board because they want to be the ones to decide where the money goes. As the deal stands, projects must go through a paper-filled nine-step approval process at various levels of government in Quebec and Ottawa.

"We walked out because we consider that the best way to make a logical and sensible plan of action is to use the experts in the community field," says Isabelle Leduc, coordinator of the St. James Drop-In Centre and RAPSIM board member. "We're the ones who work with this population on a daily basis."

Groups represented by RAPSIM back the walkout. "We agree with them breaking off negotiations," says Luc Lalonde, director of FOAM, which coordinates over 3,000 subsidized dwellings. "The money should be distributed by community organizations."

"We are concerned with optimizing the efficiency of this money," Leduc says. "Every time we talk about the needs of the homeless population, we're always told: 'It's too bad, but there isn't enough money.' But once again, it seems there are other obstacles.

"All that's needed is the will to do what is right with the money," Leduc adds. "The will is not there on the part of the Health Board and the bureaucrats."