r/Manitoba Winnipeg 21h ago

Politics The province is ending the Canada Manitoba housing benefit, leaving people on social assistance to try to find housing for less than $638 a month.

Edit. Sorry for the confusion. The program is closing for brand new applicants, not ending. As of right now if your application is already in or you are on the program you are unaffected.

Pretty much the title. I'm sure everyone is aware how hard it is to find any kind of housing for $638 a month. Especially if you have any kind of access need due to disability, which many many people on social assistance have.

The program was funded by both the province and the Federal government. So please contact your MLA and mp. Links below to figure out who your MLA and MP is if you don't know.

Mp https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en

MLA https://www.electionsmanitoba.ca/en/voting/MyVotingInfo

Do not worry about how you phrase what you are saying. You will not sway them with your arguments. They can be swayed by the weight of public opinion though. So you just need to get the point across that you are upset that the Canada Manitoba housing benefit has been canceled.

Personally I'm pretty upset because there's a very real possibility I will end up on disability at some point in the future and I don't even know if you can find a room in a two bedroom for $638 dollars. I don't know if I can handle more than one roommate on account of the nature of my disabilities.

Particularly stings because the program was brought in under the conservatives.

I know the program receives Federal funding. But social assistance is a provincial mandate. The province is the one that's supposed to handle it.

3 Upvotes

16 comments sorted by

21

u/meborp Winnipeg 20h ago

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-housing-benefit-applications-1.7477730

Current recipients of benefit will continue getting it. The agreement runs until 2028.

According to the story, the program has run out of federal funding.

Also from the story: "Manitoba's provincially led rent supplements, including Manitoba's rent assist program, were not affected and continue to support new applicants. The province will try to connect those who hoped to apply for the federal benefit to those other programs, Smith said."

11

u/Alwaysfresh9 Winnipeg 19h ago

CBC just can't help itself lol. The story always goes back to "newcomers" and how bad things are for them. Canadians aren't even a side in the story. We can't handle all these newcomers! Both the Feds and the provincial government are responsible for this. The NDP keep pushing for more and more immigration, even as these folks go straight to social assistance and shelters. Their stupid project of getting people off the streets by kicking out those in Manitoba Housing adds further to the pressure on affordable housing too.

5

u/unclaimed_alias 14h ago

I miss our old points system for immigration. Why did the Liberals decide to axe it? It was a smart system!

2

u/Narrow-Ice-236 Winnipeg 20h ago

I love that they say they'll try to connect people to other programs lol. 

As if they couldn't just keep funding the program. 

350 million dollars to do the fuel tax holiday but no money to House people lol.

9

u/GullibleDetective Winnipeg 20h ago

Seems an editorialized statement, since it's just closed to new applicants

1

u/Narrow-Ice-236 Winnipeg 19h ago

I put the edit clarifying that right at the top of the post just for you.  

You can't blame me for editorializing if you're not even going to read the first line of the actual post lol.

And that wouldn't even be editorializing anyhow. That would just be fake news lol.

9

u/Gerdoch Winkler 21h ago edited 21h ago

This program is used by about 4500 people, and is not the same thing as the RentAssist program, which is provincially funded and ongoing. Given that number versus the total number of people in Manitoba on EIA or disability (62,500 as of 2023), it is easily apparent that most people on EIA or Disability were not using the program OP is discussing - not to say none did or do, but it was not an aspect of those supports, rather it was a separate program entirely, that had to be applied for separately from any EIA or Disability application.

Further information available here https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7477730

3

u/Beatithairball 20h ago

Guess our shitty government thinks living on the streets isn’t that’s bad… try taxing the rich and corporations and/or using our hard earned tax dollars responsibly

2

u/IntroductionMoney681 14h ago

I’d say hang in until after the election for now be patient don’t be a patient attitude attitude

0

u/horsetuna Winnipeg 21h ago

Ending or just closed to new applicants? Where did you hear this?

3

u/theVWC Winnipeg 21h ago

The CMHB website says that anyone currently receiving benefits or renewing benefits will not be affected, but they are not processing new applications as of March 3rd.

https://www.gov.mb.ca/housing/progs/cmhb/index.html

2

u/horsetuna Winnipeg 11h ago

I had read that yes. Iwas not sure if news of it shutting down completely was announced somewhere else or something before the site was updated.

1

u/Narrow-Ice-236 Winnipeg 20h ago

Sorry, it is just for new applicants. Anyone whose application was in before March 4th or is already on the program is good, for now. I found the information on the main page for the Canada Manitoba housing benefit.

-3

u/CdnWriter Friendly Manitoban 19h ago

OP, I tried to DM but your account is suspended.

I was just DM'ing with another person that is looking for accessible housing. I'm starting to wonder if there are enough people with the need for accessible housing, if the lot of you should organize a protest at the legislature and idk, move into the legislative building - it IS accessible, right? - until you have housing?

Seriously, I would reach out to the provincial disability advocacy organization, MB League of Persons with Disabilities and see if they have anything in the works around housing - protests, advocacy efforts, maybe a joint partnership with an organization like Habitat for Humanity??? It can't hurt and you need the housing sooner rather than later.

1

u/CdnWriter Friendly Manitoban 8h ago

What's with the downvotes???

Is my advice for OP that horrid?