November 22 is National Housing Day and organizations across the country are making a point to mark the day publicly so as to draw attention to the dire housing and homelessness situation in Canada. Deemed as an ’emergency’ and ‘crisis’ by UN reports, organizations (including CWP) and mayors of major cities, adequate, affordable and accessible housing is a hot topic that seems to be on everyone’s lips except the federal government. And that is a problem.
Reports and homeless counts continue to affirm a persistent housing problem. The most recent estimates count at least 200,000 homeless people across Canada with 30,000 people experiencing homelessness each night. When considering the impact on women in particular, of the 210,000 people using shelter and temporary housing each year, 103,000 are female. See the YWCA’s Homes for Women campaign website for more details. While infographics are great as they paint a visual picture of the issue, they sadly tell the same story year after year because little is done to solve problem.
So what is happening in Canada? The federal government renewed both the Homeless Partnering Strategy (maintained at $119 million) and Affordable Housing Program (maintained at $253 million, but matched by provinces and territories to bring the total to $506 million) for another 5 years, but plans to disperse the money, or account for increases in cost, have not be revealed. No meetings between the federal minister and provincial/territorial (P/T) housing ministers has been scheduled. This is despite the fact that in the summer all premiers met in Ontario and released a communique requesting such a meeting and long-term federal leadership in housing detailed in an overarching strategy.
Yes, what is needed is a national housing strategy. This is not new information, but the call for a plan is getting BIGGER. With the mayors of major cities on board, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has added their weight to the conversation supporting the renewal of $1.7 billion in expiring federal funding commitments for housing, and a national coordinated plan with all players at the table.
Didn’t the government have a chance to implement a national housing strategy this year? Yes, indeed they did and the majority of the House of Commons voted against this critical piece of legislation. The Bill was C-400, An Act to Secure Adequate, Accessible and Affordable Housing For Canadians. Over 50 organizations worked together to support the passage of this Bill, but it was defeated in February.
This Bill would have been the start of a national housing strategy and would have brought all stakeholders to the table: P/T governments, Aboriginal governments, civil society, business and persons living in poverty. More importantly, it was grounded in human rights and respected the right to housing.
Since 1998 the United Nations has been telling Canada it has to live up to its international human rights obligations and create a national housing strategy. This point comes up in each review of economic and social rights that Canada undergoes, the most recent being the Universal Periodic Review in April of this year where a number of member-states again made this recommendation. It is time for the federal government to fulfill this obligation, ensure the right to housing is protected, and develop a national housing strategy. Not only does it make sense, but it will save money to house the homeless and those inadequately housed. Cost of poverty reports from across the country demonstrate this fact.
So what can you do? Events are taking place today and into next week in support of housing from Vancouver to St. John’s, but that is not the only way you can get involved. Have a look at the Action 4 Housing website and spread the word!
