National housing strategy needs human rights pillar for success: UN watchdog
OTTAWA — The federal government’s push for a national housing strategy may fall short of its vaunted goals if it doesn’t make human rights a central pillar of the plan, a UN housing watchdog says.
The Liberal government is in the midst of consulting on the national housing strategy that federal officials consider to be the most complicated file in front of Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos.
The UN has repeatedly told Canada that it needs a housing strategy as part of its pointed warnings that the country’s homeless population, which now stands at about 235,000, is a human rights issue that needs to be addressed.
Leilani Farha, the UN special rapporteur on adequate housing, said recognizing housing as a human right would give the government a built-in accountability measure to ensure the strategy works for all Canadians.