Landmark Achievement: Canada Legislates Right to Housing Law

right to housing

Canada has long sought a solution to the ever-growing national homeless crisis currently affecting upwards of 235,000 people. Hopes have never been higher than this summer when a bill legislating a national right to housing passed the senate and was given royal assent. June 20th and 21st of the 2019 calendar year mark a revolutionary step toward progress that deserves international attention.

About Bill C-97 The Budget Implementation Act, 2019

This new bill comes as the result of over 30 years of advocacy by people such as yourself, along with the help of supportive politicians and many big-hearted groups pulling together for a great cause. Among other statutes, it contains “An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 19, 2019 and other measures.” The bill is expressly designed to deal with systematic housing issues currently affecting millions of Canadians. Not just those who are homeless, but also those individuals who are struggling to remain out of homelessness in these trying economic times.

Under this new bill, housing policies will be closely scrutinized and studies will be conducted to better understand and prevent housing vulnerability. Via Twitter, President & CEO of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness Tim Richter called it “a giant leap in the right direction.” While the Right to Housing Coalition dubbed it “a hard won victory.”

Like most victories, there were many behind-the-scenes battles the general public might not have witnessed first-hand. Thousands of advocates showed their support by way of building websites, crafting 10-year plans, gathering supportive signatures, and spreading the word across the world-wide-web. This bill stands as a testament to the power of positive messaging, to the idea that words do give way to action, although these things may take time.

In 2018, the Right to Housing Coalition established the TO Housing Pledge, urging city councilors to sign in patronage of affordable housing for all.

In the end, 14 city councilors committed to “the pledge.” Their names are as follows:

  • Anthony Perruzza
  • Frances Nunziata
  • Good Perks
  • Ana Bailao
  • Josh Matlow
  • Mike Layton
  • Joe Cressy
  • Kristyn Wong-Tam
  • Shelley Carroll
  • Jaye Robinson
  • Paula Fletcher
  • Brad Bradford
  • Jim Karygiannis
  • Paul Ainslie

Those who chose not to take the pledge were:

  • Michael Ford
  • Stephen Holyday
  • Mark Grimes
  • James Pasternak
  • Mike Coelle
  • John Filion
  • Denzil Minnan-Wong
  • Michael Thompson
  • Gary Crawford
  • Cynthia Lai
  • Jennifer McKelvie

It pays to know who you’re voting for!

What’s Next for Canada in Terms of Solving Homelessness?

National recognition of a right to housing does not equate to an overnight solution to the entire homeless problem. Homelessness is a complex situation with multiple causes decades in the making. As such, it will take a great deal of hard work in order to combat damage already done and to prevent further damage. Some of the many necessary steps to take moving forward include:

  • Holding community meetings and discussions to raise awareness
  • Building more affordable housing nationwide
  • Researching and resolving housing inequities
  • Ensuring that this law applies to disenfranchised populations who are overrepresented in Canada’s homeless population (such as Canada’s Indigenous People)
  • Holding the government accountable for upholding the standards presented in this bill
  • Keeping this bill as part of national legislation

That last statement is incredibly important because there is already a building opposition to Bill C-97 and it has only been on the table since the end of June.

Some News Organizations Are Already Using Negative Rhetoric to Make Bill C-97 Seem Like a Bad Idea

You might find it hard to believe that anyone would object to the right to housing for all. Yet harmful subliminal messages can damage otherwise good intentions. Such messages and rhetoric are already being spread. And Canada’s right to housing has only just been passed.

In this short window of time, Toronto City News hinted the bill was haphazardly put together at the last minute, which is not true. It’s also notable to mention that this groundbreaking judicial decision has not yet received coverage by major media publications, save the few that presented it in a negative light.

For this reason and many more, it’s important that we spread the word and get this positive message out in the limelight, exposing it for what it really is – a progressive plan to implement real and positive change for homeless people everywhere. I beg fellow journalists and advocates to start spreading the word so we can keep up the momentum. Let’s rally the spirit of enthusiasm for this summer achievement with the hope of more to come.

Who Benefits from this Bill?

Homelessness has many faces. It isn’t always exactly what you envision, although it can be. In Canada, homelessness can affect anyone, from elderly grandparents to Indigenous People living in the suburbs to middle-aged veterans and recently unemployed school teachers. Some homeless people are visibly stationed in tents under streetlamps. Others are hidden in doubled up families living well below the poverty line. This bill would serve to benefit them, but it doesn’t stop there.

Bill C-97 is aimed at prevention as well as solving the homeless crisis. This means that it would also serve the 43% of renters in Vancouver who are severely burdened by their bills. It would serve the approximately 15,000 Canadians who make less money than they pay in bills and are therefore living on negative incomes. It would serve the one out of every five Canadian households currently doling out more than half of their finances on rent.

And it would serve us all well to remember our fellow humans and their essential-most rights, one of which is the right to living in a safe, secure, stable home. Please be diligent in following up on this bill. Talk to your local representatives and let them know you have expectations that Canada holds firm to this new mission-housing for all.


Cynthia Griffith

Cynthia Griffith

     

Cynthia Griffith is a freelance writer dedicated to social justice and environmental issues.

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