The Streets: Ottawa faces calls to step up on veteran homelessness
Dan Campbell and Benjamin Van Eck were fast friends while serving in 2 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery.
The pair were "Stuck at the hip," as Campbell describes it, during months of training and a deployment to Afghanistan in 2007 where they served on the same gun.
"We didn't have the best upbringing and we basically joined the army and we knew it was our last shot at something," Campbell recalls. "I wasn't given anything and I had to work hard for whatever I had. He was the same, so we gravitated towards each other."
Yet while Campbell would eventually settle down to start a family, Van Eck struggled with addiction and homelessness after hanging up his uniform. His body was found on the streets of London, Ont., this past June.
Van Eck's death was a tragic reminder of the disproportionate number of veterans who end up unhoused and on the streets after serving the country. And while Ottawa has been promising a plan to address the problem for years, it has yet to deliver.
Instead, grassroots groups have been stepping up to fill what some see as a gap between the government's clear responsibility for providing support for veterans without housing and what it provides.
"We're seeing progress around the country. We're seeing an eagerness in communities on the ground to solve the problem," says Tim Richter, head of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.
"And we now need to see some urgent movement from the federal government. I mean, governments have talked about this issue for decades."
There are no definitive statistics when it comes to the number of homeless veterans, but estimates have placed the figure between 3,000 and 5,000.
A point-in-time survey of emergency shelters in 61 communities in 2018 found 4.4 per cent of users were veterans.
"However, only about 1.7 per cent of the Canadian population are veterans," says Suzanne Le, executive director of the Multifaith Housing Initiative in Ottawa. "So you can see that there's a huge over representation of veterans in the homeless population."
Why are veterans more likely to end up on the street?
A House of Commons committee studying the issue in 2019 was told veterans often end up homeless for many of the same reasons as other Canadians: poverty; a lack of affordable housing; job loss or instability; health problems; and family and marital breakdowns.
Yet veterans were more likely to experience problems with alcohol and drugs, the committee heard.
The loss of identity and camaraderie that comes with leaving the military and trying to re-enter civilian life were also factors.
In May 2019, the committee made 10 recommendations for eliminating veterans' homelessness, a target witnesses said was realistic. Those recommendations included a rent supplement and funding for housing projects specifically for veterans.
The following month, the House of Commons adopted a unanimous motion calling on the government to "set a goal to prevent and end veteran homelessness by 2025" and present a plan to fulfil that objective by June 2020 with special consideration of a housing benefit.
While no one at that time could have foreseen the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a growing sense of impatience over what many see as a lack of commitment and leadership from Ottawa.
The Liberal government did commit $45 million in this year's federal budget for a two-year pilot project intended to provide veterans with rent supplements and what are known as "wraparound supports" to keep them from falling back out onto the streets.
Yet that project won't be launched until next spring at the earliest, while Le is skeptical about the plan's long-term prospects.
"There have been a few pilot projects that have happened," she says. "And when the pilot projects are done, all those veterans ended up back on the streets, and they become very mistrustful of the government and they don't want anything to do with pilot projects."
In the meantime, others have stepped up to address the problem. That includes the Multifaith Housing Initiative, which spearheaded construction of a 40-unit building called Veterans' House on the site of the former Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe, just east of downtown Ottawa.
Bill Beaton was one of the first veterans to move into the building when it opened in February. Sitting in his room, the 65-year-old former weapons technician talks about life after his military career, which included being without a home to live in on multiple occasions.
"If you've got a roof over your head, everything else is possible," he says.
Veterans' House provides permanent affordable housing, as well as on-site services such as peer support programs and a yard for service dogs.
The $11.5-million cost was covered by a combination of fundraising and government cash, including $6.5 million from a program set up by the federal government through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
Yet getting that money wasn't easy, says Le.
"When you're in a veterans' project and you're fighting for funds, you're competing against other projects that get better funds because they also get a lot of (matching funds) from the province and the municipalities," she says.
During the last federal election, the Liberals promised to set aside a special stream specifically for veterans' housing projects but have not provided details.
Municipalities have also started to get in on the game, says Richter, who points to London's success reaching what he describes as "functional zero," which is when a city has the ability to house more veterans than the number who become homeless in a month.
Richter could not speak to what happened to Van Eck, but he and others underscored the need for better treatment when it comes to addiction and psychological trauma in addition to affordable housing.
Afghan war veteran Chris Dupee has seen that firsthand since leaving the military because of post-traumatic stress disorder. He founded Cadence, a health centre in Newmarket, Ont., designed specifically for first responders and veterans.
"Addictions, that's something that goes hand in hand with mental health and with homelessness," he says. "While you're avoiding, you find this tool to help your avoidance and then you just dive in."
Campbell says he was shocked and saddened but not surprised when he found out what happened to Van Eck. And while he doesn't know whether more affordable housing for veterans would have saved his friend, he wishes it had been an option.
"Maybe that would have helped Ben and maybe that wouldn't have helped him. Maybe he would have still went out the way he did," Campbell says. "But at least they could still put their hand on their heart and say they tried."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2021.
------
In a special series leading up to Remembrance Day this year, The Canadian Press will detail the ongoing battles that many veterans are fighting.
Through interviews with veterans from across the country, as well as advocates, experts and volunteer groups, the series will look at some of the most pressing and difficult challenges facing today's veterans -- and what can and should be done about them.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Local Spotlight
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.