Homelessness in Canada has reached crisis levels. Together with community partners, ACTO organized the Right to Housing Coalition that includes people from a variety of backgrounds and expertise. The Coalition includes those with lived experience of homelessness, those inadequately housed, community organizations, advocacy groups, and academics.
The right to housing is more than simply the right to shelter. Housing is not a commodity. It is a fundamental human right. Everyone should have a right to safe, adequate and affordable housing.
On April 30, 2018, we organized the Right to Housing Forum. Panelists discussed solutions to Ontario’s affordable rental housing crisis and what the right to housing should look like in Canada:
The Government of Canada conducted a national consultation for their human rights-based approach to housing.
Here are two resources to learn more:
- ACTO’s ideas paper on the human rights-based approach: Questions on the Way to the Right to Housing.
- Emily Paradis, Research Consultant at the University of Toronto and Bruce Porter, the Executive Director of the Social Rights Advocacy Centre have prepared a summary paper that sets out key elements for implementing the right to housing: Implementing the Human Right to Housing in Canada’s National Housing Strategy.
Learn more about the Right to Housing campaign.