ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Canada’s housing advocates claim unhoused individuals have a fundamental right to live in encampments, and that right is violated when authorities tear them down.
Housing advocates in Canada assert that people without homes have a basic right to reside in encampments and that when encampments are demolished by authorities, this right is infringed.
In a piercing report that was released recently, Marie-Josee Houle says the expansion of homeless encampments across the country is a national human rights crisis that needs immediate action and coordination involving all levels of government. Tent encampments, the report says, are the result of Canada’s persistent failure to protect people’s right to housing, which the federal government officially recognized in 2019.
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The report says that governments must make sure that homeless individuals have permanent housing as soon as possible, and in the meantime, authorities need to prepare encampments with basic services, such as clean water and garbage removal, so residents can live in self-respect.
Every day it’s a matter of life and death for individuals living in these encampments. At the same time, encampments represent an effort by unhoused people to claim their human rights and meet their most basic needs and Canada can solve this crisis. What is lacking is sufficient political will, resources, and coordination.
Houle was appointed to monitor Canada’s progress in upholding housing as a human right. Her report, called “Upholding Dignity and Human Rights,” caps off a review that began in February 2023, and involved meetings with advocates, Indigenous leaders, and individuals living in encampments across the country.
Since then, the problem has only become more urgent, she said.
Unhoused individuals in Nova Scotia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick have died in camps, some from overdoses and tent fires.
Last week In Halifax, the municipality issued eviction notices to individuals living in five of its 11 designated encampments, telling people they had to leave by Feb. 26. Last month in Edmonton, police tore down a camp deemed by the city to be at high risk, and arrested three individuals, including a journalist.
Houle’s message to the cities was blunt as she called for an immediate end to all encampment evictions. These are human rights violations. This method will only risk lives.
Recently Halifax mayor Mike Savage told reporters that individuals must leave the camps because the province is offering better housing and we believe that we’re doing what makes sense to give individuals a better chance at a better life.
However, In the city, some camp residents have said the shelter offered as a substitute lacks privacy and security.
Houle said nobody living in camps should be forced to use shelters or other options that don’t meet their needs.
Many individuals who are experiencing homelessness have very bad trauma related to social services, related to institutions, related to people in uniform,” she said, adding that forced evictions will not help rebuild that trust.
Her report mentioned that, In the absence of affordable, accessible housing, individuals have the right to gather and live-in encampments. Homeless encampments can provide the security and community that some find lacking in emergency shelters and temporary placements.
Houle said, there are safety risks in tent cities but dismantling them pushes individuals further into the margins, where they’re more vulnerable.
What’s driving the growth of encampments across Canada, the report said, is a severe shortage of housing for low-income individuals, as well as insufficient funding of community services and mental health supports.
It asks the federal government to create a national encampment response plan by Aug. 31 that would fulfill her calls to action.
The report asks provinces to increase income-support rates or welfare as well as minimum wages and implement legislation recognizing housing as a human right.
The federal government should work with the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation to make federal funding for provinces and cities tied to a commitment to upholding the human right to housing.
Cities should ensure encampments have electricity, clean water, heat, and sanitation services.
Above all, Houle said governments should not decide what’s best for unhoused individuals without their input.
Ontario lawyer Shannon Down, who runs Waterloo Region Community Legal Services, said Houle’s report will help arm lawyers trying to block evictions of homeless camps. Down was part of a successful fight against the Region of Waterloo’s efforts to empty a tent encampment in downtown Kitchener, arguing that an eviction would disrupt residents’ Charter rights.
It’s a step in the right direction, I think it’s a powerful statement, says Down and I think that it’ll be a helpful advocacy tool.
However, she said the amount of encampment evictions happening across the country far outweighs the amount of lawyers and legal clinics ready to fight them.
Houle’s report says homeless individuals should have more access to the justice system, and includes a call for provinces to beef up legal aid funding that supports work such as Down’s.
