Today is UN World Habitat Day and this 12 months’s theme is Mind the Gap. Leave No One and No Place Behind. This concept is incredibly relevant to Canadians as we’re forced to confront the continued spread of COVID-19, the arrival of latest refugees fleeing conflict zones and the climate crisis which is worsening extreme weather events like Hurricane Fiona and the fatal heat waves in BC.
These unprecedented crises have chipped away at many communities’ livelihoods and ways of life, especially vulnerable and marginalized communities, and are further proof of the need for drastic reforms on housing policy. As a nation, it’s imperative that we uphold every one’s fundamental human right to housing and supply everyone with secure, clean and truly inexpensive housing.
With dual crises of housing affordability and homelessness defining the challenges of many Canadians in every province, it is obvious that our housing and homelessness strategies haven’t been working. Existing policies linking the definition of ‘affordability’ to what the commodified housing market can bear ensures that housing stays unaffordable for many Canadians. These policies supported by the Liberals, Conservatives and the NDP for a long time are unjust and have been proven ineffective for a long time.
Poverty and systemic inequalities are on the core of those crises, and must even be on the core of our solutions. The gap between those that can afford, and people who cannot is barely getting wider because the cost-of-living increases.
Within the spirit of UN World Habitat Day, we call on the federal government to stop asking those that face essentially the most negative impacts these crises to pay for the failure of the establishment, and at last set us on a path toward not only reducing poverty but truly eliminating systemic poverty.
The Green Party of Canada Affordability for All plan proposes:
- Establish a Guaranteed Livable Income to make sure all Canadians can live with dignity and independence
- Implement a National Housing Strategy to supply access to inexpensive and energy-efficient homes to all Canadians
- Establish a culturally sensitive Housing First approach to supply urgent housing to combat chronic homelessness
- Increase access to social housing for Indigenous peoples living in and off reserves
- Spend money on the co-operative housing sector to spark recent, inexpensive housing market and support existing co-ops.
- In collaboration with municipal authorities and officials, redefine inexpensive rent based on renter’s income
- Implement a national moratorium on evictions till COVID-19 is fully under control
- Create a residential arrears assistance program for defense to those under risk of being evicted or turned homeless
The Green Party of Canada believes these policies would help Canada Mind the Gap. Leave No One and No Place Behind.
For more information or to rearrange an interview, please contact :
For more information or to rearrange an interview, please contact :
Fabrice Lachance Nové
Press Secretary
514-463-0021
media@greenparty.ca
