Today, Canada’s Federal Housing Advocate, Marie-Josée Houle, asked the National Housing Council to launch a review panel to examine the lack of accessible housing across Canada.
To mark the launch of National AccessAbility Week, Christopher T. Sutton, Accessibility Commissioner, and Charlotte-Anne Malischewski, Interim Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, issue the following statement:
Opening remarks to the CRPD committee on the occasion of Canada's combined 2nd and 3rd Periodic Reviews by Charlotte-Anne Malischewski, Interim Chief Commissioner Canadian Human Rights Commission
The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) is Canada's national human rights institution. We promote, monitor and protect human rights in Canada. We are also responsible for monitoring Canada's implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
New data shows that people with disabilities face financial hardship, unsafe housing, and a lack of supports and services at far higher rates than people without disabilities.
Today, we mark International Human Rights Day and the anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 1 of the Declaration proclaims that all people are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Yet for many, this promise remains unfulfilled. To truly live up to those words, Canada must do a better job of ensuring that everyone across the country can live with dignity.
Over the course of 2022–2023, the Federal Housing Advocate made it a priority to meet with people who are directly affected by inadequate housing and homelessness.
On National Housing Day, Marie-Josée Houle, Federal Housing Advocate, issues the following statement. A version of this story was published in Le Devoir (French only) on November 22, 2024.
The groups, including Federal Housing Advocate Marie-Josée Houle, President of Métis Nation – Saskatchewan Glen McCallum, and Loretta King, Metis-Nation – Saskatchewan’s Infrastructure and Housing Minister, will also meet with federal ministers and senators in Ottawa that day to discuss the recommendations and advocate for solutions.
Across Canada, people continue to be forced to live in public spaces because they have nowhere else to go. This national human rights crisis calls for a national response.