Federal government still has role in housing for women. (Child And Family).

TORONTO -- The federal government has a role to play in making sure Canadian women are adequately housed despite having pulled out of the housing field in the last decade, says the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation.

A new report, Women and Housing in Canada: Barriers to Equality, says homelessness among women - and children - still tends to be ignored because they are not usually among those seen living on the streets. Even emergency shelter use is often a last resort, it says. Instead, women at risk of losing housing tend to stay in violent relationships, live in unsafe or unhealthy accommodations, sacrifice food and other necessities, move into overcrowded accommodations or lose custody of their children because of inadequate housing.

The report makes several recommendations for federal government action, including:

* a portable shelter subsidy paid as a direct cash transfer or tax credit with eligibility determined by need rather than availability of social housing units;

* removal of CMHC'S restrictions on mortgage insurance;

* a requirement that banks develop special programs to provide mortgages to low income households.

CERA also recommends initiating a Charter challenge of the claw back of the Canada Child Tax Benefit from parents receiving social assistance.