Where the study came from
The study was launched by a motion from backbench Liberal MP Alana Hirtle, who represents the Amherst, N.S. riding. The committee has committed to holding at least four meetings on the issue before reporting its findings back to the full House of Commons.
'The sense of urgency just isn't there'
Mitchell Freeman, Assistant Deputy Minister at Veterans Affairs Canada, appeared before the committee as a government witness.
The scale of the problem, and the money left on the table
Federal data from March 2026, based on point-in-time counts and shelter surveys, estimates that between 1,700 and 1,800 veterans experience homelessness over the course of a year. Lowther told the committee that figure likely understates the real number, since veterans tend not to access shelters the way other homeless populations do. "They are more likely to live in their car, stay with a buddy or live rough in the woods," she said, adding that this hidden homelessness isn't captured in the federal count.
The hearing also revealed that more than $3 million in Veteran Homelessness Program funding went unspent and was returned to government coffers last year, even though only 233 veterans ended up receiving support through the program. Government officials told the committee all opportunities to allocate the funding had been exhausted. Lowther disputed that characterization of outreach, telling MPs bluntly: "Nobody reached out to us before they sent that money back."
What VETS Canada does with less
VETS Canada supports between 400 and 600 veterans a year, roughly 80 percent of them referred directly by Veterans Affairs Canada, spending on average about $3,500 per veteran, a fraction of what the returned federal funding could have covered.
For now, the message from advocates who work directly with homeless veterans is that the political will exists on paper, in the form of a committee study, but not yet in the pace of action.
Sources: Yahoo News Canada (Postmedia/National Post wire), The Hub
