Yeah, I’m eating your tree, what are you going to do about it?

Policy approaches to prevent homelessness requires a measure of what income leaves one at greatest risk. Colleague Rita Wilkins and I are pleased that our HICO measure is being used in a proposal for a new Housing Benefit. caeh.ca/transforming...

Transforming the Canada Housing Benefit to Prevent Homelessness

The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness is proposing a transformed Canada Housing Benefit that could reduce homelessness by more than 60%.

caeh.ca

Contrary to some recent suggestions, Alberta does not have bear unreasonable costs -- either absolutely or in comparison to other provinces -- from providing social assistance. www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u... @vibrantcalgary.bsky.social

Do you actually have something useful to say about homelessness? Great! Then come say it at the 9th Annual Data That Makes A Difference conference, May 27 and 28 in Calgary. @policyschool.bsky.social mailchi.mp/calgaryhomel...

Every New Year's Eve I remind myself of this passage from The Dead and think of those I have lost. This year, it was my Mom.

This month, Social Policy Trends looks back on the work we have done during 2025. The social safety net is intended to catch people before they fall too far or too hard and in this way give them a chance to recover. 1/2 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

This month Social Policy Trends reminds us that anti-poverty initiatives and policies to encourage employment growth are both effective ways of reducing poverty. Pursuing one strategy to the exclusion of the other can leave important gains unrealized. www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

After a short hiatus, Social Policy Trends is back! This month we describe how the housing crisis impacts the victims of domestic violence and the organizations that provide them with temporary shelter. 1/4 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

How do we know when someone is at very high risk of homelessness? Compare their income to the Homelessness Income Cut Off. homelesshub.ca/blog/2025/ho...

The Homelessness Income Cut-Off (HICO): A New Benchmark to Prevent Homelessness in Canada | HomelessHub

The Homelessness Income Cut-Off (HICO) redefines how we identify and respond to housing vulnerability, shifting our focus from poverty in general to the specific point at which people become homeless.

homelesshub.ca

Immigration expert Robert Falconer says Alberta’s immigration survey is vague on which services could be withheld and could include essentials like health care. He says it may have “serious implications" and that the term "non-citizen" could even mean PR holders podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/s...

Should Alberta withhold social services for immigrants?

Podcast Episode · The Courtney Theriault Show · 2025-06-25 · 9m

podcasts.apple.com

For those who like their policy studies in bite-sized pieces, today the social policy research team at the School of Public Policy has released a one-page description of a key result from a recent research paper. This is part of our Social Policy Trends series. 🧵 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

Today, we released a study linking two administrative datasets, one describing the use of food banks, the other describing the use of homeless shelters. 🧵 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

My mom passed away yesterday. She was 98. A hottie nurse in her day.

This month, Social Policy Trends looks at the extent to which Canadian governments provide inflation protection for families dependent upon social assistance. Short 🧵 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

A two word suggestion to the person leaving an insulting message on my voicemail but too cowardly to leave their name:

Taking time off to help my mother live out what may be her last days. Today she told me she wished she could feel the sun on her face. Leaping into action, I got her nurses, Armand and Fred to sling her into wheelchair so I could take her outside, to feel the sun for maybe the last time. 1/3

Going to stretch my legs walking down, and then back up 😬, the Hamilton “mountain”.

Not a good look for the CBC to include a Liberal party hack on its discussion desk. He’s embarrassing.

Oops

Got to say I am finding it hard to find any commentary on this platform that does not think every solution to an economic problem in Canada involves a larger federal government presence. Not all solutions are found with government and the few that are are not found at the federal level.

The affordability of housing is closely related to local conditions and local regulations. This is not a problem with a federal government solution. www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

This month, Social Policy Trends looks at research by my team at the School of Public Policy on how weather conditions affect people living in encampments (often referred to as rough sleepers). 🧵 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

You're almost out of time to buy early bird (cheap!) tickets for the Data That Makes A Difference Conference in May! We have a great line up of speakers. I'll be speaking on how we might use data from food banks to predict future rates of homelessness. Join us! www.showpass.com/data-that-ma...

Data That Makes A Difference - 906 8 Ave SW - Calgary - May 28, 2025

Calgary Homeless Foundation and The School of Public Policy invite you to the 8th Annual Data That Makes a Difference. This two-day national conference brings together data professionals, service deli...

showpass.com

"Top officials of our oldest allies say privately they fear that we are becoming not just unstable, but actually their enemy. The only person who gets treated with kid gloves is Putin, and America’s traditional friends are in shock."

Opinion | A Great Unraveling Is Underway (Gift Article)

Trump’s foreign policy philosophy is not “containment” or “engagement,” but “smash and grab.”

nytimes.com

Have you bought your ticket yet? Why not? Get on it, eh? www.showpass.com/data-that-ma...

Data That Makes A Difference - 906 8 Ave SW - Calgary - May 28, 2025

Calgary Homeless Foundation and The School of Public Policy invite you to the 8th Annual Data That Makes a Difference. This two-day national conference brings together data professionals, service deli...

showpass.com

This month, Social Policy Trends reports on preliminary results of our on-going research into how best to respond to domestic violence. Our research agenda stresses there are opportunities to intervene prior to the violence occurring. 1/2 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

This month, Social Policy Trends describes and provides measures of the Homelessness Income Cut Off (HICO). 🧵 www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/u...

It is inconceivable to me that there can be that many morally corrupt people in the upper echelons of the US government. Morally corrupt or just cowards, not sure which.

Do you know how to use data to better inform public policies and best practices with respect to homelessness? Prove it! Submit a proposal for presentation at the 8th Annual Data That Makes A Difference conference in Calgary this coming May. www.calgaryhomeless.com/dtmad/

Data That Makes A Difference - Calgary Homeless Foundation

calgaryhomeless.com

Hyman Roth was wrong. It's not Cuba that offers a future for gangsters wanting to be free of the Justice Department and the FBI. It's the USA. "Think about the possibilities. No more enemies. Partnership with a government and having the cash to make it possible."