To Canada's Premiers
- Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario
- Hon. Dennis King, Premier of Prince Edward Island
- Hon. François Legault, Premier of Québec
- Hon. Tim Houston, Premier of Nova Scotia
- Hon. Susan Holt, Premier of New Brunswick
- Hon. Wab Kinew, Premier of Manitoba
- Hon. David Eby, Premier of British Columbia
- Hon. Scott Moe, Premier of Saskatchewan
- Hon. Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta
- Hon. Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Hon. R.J. Simpson, Premier of the Northwest Territories
- Hon. Ranj Pillai, Premier of Yukon
- Hon. P.J. Akeeagok, Premier of Nunavut
Dear Premiers,
I am writing today to reiterate my call for each of you to commit to respecting and protecting the fundamental human rights of people experiencing homelessness and living in encampments.
As jurisdictions across the country start to receive federal funding to address encampments and unsheltered homelessness, provincial and territorial governments have a critical role to play to ensure this money makes a lasting difference in the targeted communities.
This letter also comes on the one-year anniversary of the release of Upholding dignity and human rights: The Federal Housing Advocate's review of homeless encampments, the first national review to directly engage encampment residents and key stakeholders.
Through consultations with over 300 encampment residents, local advocates, Indigenous leaders and municipal governments across the country, the report provided human rights-based solutions to governments at all levels. These recommendations remain essential tools to deliver lasting results. In this report, I also called for closer collaboration between all governments and the active participation of Indigenous leadership.
The report's findings directly informed the federal government's decision to allocate $250 million in funding in Budget 2024 to address encampments. The program, called the Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampments Initiative, is to be matched by provincial, territorial and municipal funding, and focuses on action plans that are human rights-based and community-oriented.
These new resources are an opportunity to meaningfully improve the lives of people living in encampments and provide them with adequate housing. Everybody agrees that encampments are not an acceptable solution to the current housing and homelessness crisis. We must ensure that everyone has access to permanent, affordable, and adequate housing. While we work to make that a reality for all, there is an urgent need to protect the lives, dignity, and human rights of people living in encampments.
As this funding rolls out, each of you in your jurisdictions will have an important role to play. However, more money does not guarantee success. I want to emphasize that a human rights-based approach is the most effective way to address encampments. It puts people experiencing homelessness at the centre of our efforts to find effective solutions.
This is why I am calling on Canada's Premiers to work with the targeted municipalities to ensure community action plans take a human rights-based approach by including:
- clear commitments to human rights and consistent human rights language from all political leaders
- urgent measures to protect the life, dignity and human rights of people who are living in encampments
- a commitment to repealing laws and by-laws which contribute to the criminalization and insecurity of encampment residents
- meaningful engagement of Indigenous governments and organizations
- meaningful engagement of encampment residents
My review and ongoing engagement with encampment residents made it clear that they know what the solutions are for them to be properly housed. They are the experts of their own lives.
What I learned from speaking with people living in encampments is that their fundamental human rights are not being met. Without the necessities of life, every day is a struggle to survive. They do not have clean water, food, sanitation, heating and cooling as well as the services needed to protect their physical and mental health. I heard that encampments exist because of a larger, systemic failure to uphold the right to adequate housing – a lack of affordable housing, limited support services, and nowhere else safe or permanent to go.
Meaningfully engaging encampment residents in decisions that affect them, respecting their rights, and finding permanent housing solutions must be the way forward. Enforcement measures and encampment evictions destabilize people, cause further harm, and fail to address the root causes of encampments. In contrast, meaningful engagement means building and maintaining trust. When it is done well, it results in real solutions with real results – instead of band-aid fixes that waste time and taxpayer money, and further harm the people affected.
Ending homelessness is going to take all of us, working together. Once again, I am asking you today to commit to respecting and protecting the fundamental human rights of encampment residents and people experiencing homelessness. We need your leadership.
As part of my duties under Section 13 (a) of the National Housing Strategy Act, I will continue to monitor the implementation of this initiative and assess its impact on people who are members of vulnerable groups, people with lived experience of housing need and people with lived experience of homelessness. I am also copying the provincial and territorial human rights commissions as critical mechanisms for human rights accountability.
I welcome the opportunity to meet with you, including during a meeting of the Council of the Federation, to discuss a truly national response to ending homelessness.
Yours sincerely,
Marie-Josée Houle
Federal Housing Advocate
c.c.:
- Hon. Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, P.C., M.P., Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities
- Kathryn Oviatt, K.C., Chief of the Commission and Tribunals, Alberta Human Rights Commission
- Kasari Govender, Human Rights Commissioner, Office of the British Columbia Human Rights Commissioner
- Laurie Bonten, Chairperson, Manitoba Human Rights Commission
- Phylomène Zangio, Chair, New Brunswick Human Rights Commission
- Dr. Smita Joshi, Chairperson, Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission
- Charles Dent, Chair, Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission
- Cynthia Dorrington, Chair, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission
- Patricia DeGuire, Chief Commissioner, Ontario Human Rights Commission
- Joanne Ings, Chair, Prince Edward Island Human Rights Commission
- Philippe-André Tessier, président, Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse du Québec
- Treena Sikora, Chief Commissioner, Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission
- Michael Dougherty, Chair, Yukon Human Rights Commission