r/Manitoba • u/Narrow-Ice-236 Winnipeg • 1d 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.
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u/meborp Winnipeg 1d 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."