By Ray Rivers
February 20th, 2026
BURLINGTON, ON
The reasons often cited for homelessness typically include mental illness, family disputes, and substance abuse . But the fundamental issue is economic – inadequate income. Wealthier people live in houses and condos; those less wealthy will opt for rental apartments; and those without wealth end up in their parents’ basement, on a friend’s couch, in a shelter, sleeping on the street or a car, or camping out in a tent city.
Tents line several of the streets in Hamilton.
As of August last year there were about 2000 homeless people in the city of Hamilton, an estimated 25% increase since last year. And it’s not just Hamilton. Almost 85,000 people experienced homelessness across the province last year, including 20,000 children and youth. Particularly hard hit are rural and northern communities where the number of homeless has risen by 50% since 2021.
Clearly what we have been doing isn’t working. Hamilton recently introduced a vacant unit tax, presumably hoping that would somehow reduce homelessness. Every residual owner must file a form by April 15th or they’ll be hit with a 1% surtax on their property. Missing the deadline comes with a draconian hefty fine.
This past year the city announced it would be providing 40 tiny homes, a sort of metal shoe box with plumbing and heating, to accommodate up to 80 homeless city residents.
It’s an incredible case of administrative overreach that has done almost nothing to put a dent, let alone solve, the homelessness problem. It is a cash grab at best. For the vast majority of homeless the issue is not availability of rental space but rather income to pay the rent.
This past year the city announced it would be providing 40 tiny homes, a sort of metal shoe box with plumbing and heating, to accommodate up to 80 homeless city residents. This was a noble gesture that became a case study in why government should just stick to governing.
First the location is unsafe – a city-owned contaminated brownfield in need of remediation. Second, the city, in its haste, sole-sourced the tiny homes from a company with no apparent experience or track record. Third, these tiny homes were made in China, and sourced through a US based distributor. Fourth, these tin cans required a half million dollars worth of electrical and insulation retrofitting once they arrived on site. Fifth, a CBC report noted that similar tiny homes, for which the City paid $35,000 each, could be purchased on a Chinese web site (Alibaba) for something like $2000.
The project which was supposed to come in at around $2 million is now heading for about $8 million, over 300% more. In Hamilton, with a 3.6% rental vacancy rate, a single bedroom apartment rents for about $1700 a month. The 80 residents could have been housed in existing rental spaces for a little over $1.6 million dollars. That would have saved tax payers about $6 million dollars on this year’s tax bill.
Very small Tiny Homes built in Hamilton
The new residents are apparently happy with their tiny homes, but what about the other 1900 or so homeless people? Further, Canada is in the midst of a trade war and its Hamilton based steel sector is hurting from punishing US tariffs. Shouldn’t one of this city’s priorities be to buy Canadian – to buy local? Didn’t they once call Hamilton ‘Steel City’?
The fundamental problem with homelessness is lack of income. So the solution lies in fixing that. Adding more homeless shelter spaces is just another bandage over a much larger wound. Today’s myriad of social assistance programs at all levels of government is a cumbersome bureaucratic patchwork and is hopelessly unable to fix this social problem.
Isn’t it past time we replaced those programs with a simple guaranteed annual income to restore dignity to all Canadians?
Ray Rivers, a Gazette Contributing Editor, writes regularly applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was once a candidate for provincial office in Burlington. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Ray has a post graduate degree in economics that he earned at the University of Ottawa. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
Homelessness Increasing Tiny Homes from China – Homelessness – Tiny Homes Cost Overrun –
Letter on Alternatives – Federal Efforts –
In any other organization a project bungled like that would result in the incompetent employees shown the door.But in the Wonderland of public servants they just role along.
Ray,
It does “make a difference when you choose not to mention the fact that the company was managed by” Indigenous Canadians”.
Why, because presently there is the social norm of not hiring the best people or company for the job but rather doing the WOKE thing.
In this case by hiring the wrong company to manage the project Hamilton ended up dealing with delays, additional costs having to make these homes liveable and got a product that was sourced by an American Company and built in China.
What to about the hundreds of thousands who will be replaced by AI over the next 5 years.
Carney will have another support program for these displaced workers. How has socialism worked for Cuba and Venezuela or historically for any country. Unfortunately for Canada there is no road back from our self imposed economic destruction.
Ted, thanks for your comment – but I did mention the company’s lack of experience. I didn’t think whether the company was managed or owned by indigenous Canadians was an important consideration….. “Second, the city, in its haste, sole-sourced the tiny homes from a company with no apparent experience or track record. Third, these tiny homes were made in China, and sourced through a US based distributor.”
Always a lot of “Talk” in Hamilton ……..but little logical “Action” !
Surely there are a few level headed thinkers and action takers that could put their thiughts togther and really do something positive.
Ted,
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
What nonsense the answer to everything is to provide” everyone with a guaranteed annual income to restore dignity to all Canadians.”
Who decides what the guaranteed annual income will be?
What incentive would there for people to work if they knew they were getting a guaranteed annual income?
And last but not least who will pay for this since no-one will be working if they could stay home and have a guaranteed annual income?
So Ray’s answer after eleven years of failed Liberal government is a guaranteed annual income. Another program? Which ones would you abandon Ray?
Would you slash the $24 billion to the Ukraine or the $1.5 billion in health benefits paid to failed asylum seekers last year? How about that 5% of GDP commitment to defence that’s not even factored yet into government budgets.
Should we provide a guaranteed income for many of the millions of new arrivals over this eleven-year period many without the skills needed to feed or shelter themselves? Many off the highly skilled newcomers are leaving for obvious reasons.
It is recently reported that 20% of all working folk are employed in the public sector and that 25% of the 32 million working citizens make less than minimum wage.
That means that more than ten million folks one in three in the private sector pay some taxes to support this pyramid of as failing economy. These folks can’t afford shelter or the highest food inflation in the G7. Do we even belong there?
Government spending and size at all levels needs to be immediately slashed so that people have more Canadian peso’s, (renminbi or rupees) in their pocket.
I will not suffer from TDS constantly and daily fed to the public by the bought media and power-hungry politicians. Canadians are responsible for the mess in our country.
Investment would help. No one is investing serious money in Canada. Wait a minute GM just announced a paltry $64 million for Oshawa to build monster diesel trucks alongside those monster diesels expected from Ford Oakville.
Meanwhile let’s subsidize EV’s from the US and China. Unreal.
Unless we work tirelessly to obtain trade and economic stability with our southern neighbour investment will not happen. Our brain trust is bent on an alternate course.
Buckle up.
BTW: I researched that Hamilton fiasco and contributed to the Spectator reporter who should be commended for his work. Ray neglected to mention the contract was awarded to a brand-new indigenous Ontario company with zero experience or track record who purchased the garbage through a US based distributor. There are also some interesting personal relationships…..
Hamilton City Hall continues to be a gong show.