“Homelessness & Affordability Crisis”

Dangerous tent cities were once a fact of life in Edmonton, but no longer. The reason why has to do with the provincial government, which, instead of sluggishly conducting consultations for years, decided to set cabinet on the problem and just fix it. It’s a welcome reminder that ministerial responsibility is alive and well.

It sometimes seems to me that Canada’s leaders may be suffering from nostalgia when it comes to addressing the housing crisis in Canada.

There was a time from our history when housing consisted of a modest cabin, built by hand, using logs hewn from a nearby stand of trees; lantern-lit and warmed by a crackling fire in the hearth; sitting in its wide expanse of grassland, its only connection to the outer world a rutted dirt road. A cozy, nostalgic image perhaps, but far from our current reality.

Looking out across the frozen forested wilderness, Peter Politis can see children playing on swings. In his mind’s eye, a group of twentysomethings gather around a barbecue; a young family stroll past pushing a pram.

These are not, he insisted, the delusional ravings of a lunatic. Politis, mayor of the Canadian town of Cochrane, Ontario, is a man with a plan.

More than two-thirds of Canadians are “overwhelmingly concerned” about the housing crisis and expect to see affordability and accessibility become worse this year, according to a new survey.

The poll from Abacus Data said that 68 percent of respondents were not optimistic that the country’s ongoing housing crisis would improve. Twenty-three percent believed housing issues would remain the same, while only 10 percent predicted improvement.

You might not know it based on the current crisis, but housing is a human right in Canada.

In 2019, the federal Liberal government enshrined the right to adequate housing in the National Housing Strategy Act. Canada is also a signatory to the U.N.-backed International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which recognizes housing as a human right in which parties must ensure the security of tenure for all citizens. Forced evictions are a prima facie violation of the covenant.

“The people are starving, Your Highness. They have no bread,” a French courtier is alleged to have said to Marie Antoinette. The queen’s reply (which she likely never uttered) was, “Then let them eat cake.”

Vancouver officials say dozens of homeless people staying in the city’s only legal encampment have to temporarily move because the site has become unsafe and unhygienic.

Deputy city manager Sandra Singh says the section of Crab Park designated for the tent city will be shut for a week starting March 25 so equipment can be brought in to clean piles of debris and unsafe structures.