In 1999, Ottawa developed an action plan on homelessness1 designed to respond to the growing issue of homelessness here and in cities across the country. Ottawa-Carleton had joined with other municipalities to declare homelessness a “national disaster” and to call for action from the federal government. The Province had designated municipalities as “local service system managers” for homelessness and had devolved many formerly provincial responsibilities to the municipal level. Toronto had released the “Golden Report,” Anne Golden’s seminal work that called for greater homelessness prevention and shared responsibilities on a host of actions to address the issue.