“We can end homelessness, and we can end it now:” Two Vancouver actions call for a national housing strategy

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Hundreds gathered outside the Vancouver Art Gallery today to call upon all levels of government to implement and support a national housing strategy.

Signs that said "The People Say: Build Homes Now!," "Homes Not Games," and "End Poverty. It's Not a Game" lined the steps of the Gallery as advocates spoke of the need for greater federal involvement in ensuring increased access to safe and affordable housing nationwide.

The "Right to the City: Rally for a national housing program" action was organized by the Impact on Communities Coalition (IOCC) [3] and supported by politicians, faith-based organizations, Downtown Eastside (DTES) groups, and other activists and advocates.

The rally came hours after Pivot Legal Society held a "Homes for All solidarity sleepover" outside of Science World. As part of the organization's Red Tent [4] campaign, approximately 40 tents were set up on public space to create awareness about homelessness and the need for increased low-income housing. The action was prominently located next to many Canadian Olympic "houses," which highlight different provinces. Campers enjoyed performances by local musicians and djs, and brought their tents to the Gallery the following morning.

Red Tents is based on a 2006 Paris action, in which 200 tents were handed out to the city's homeless and prominently placed in the weeks leading up to a national election. The campaign, lead by the French anti-poverty group Children of Don Quixote, garnered public, political and media attention. Pivot claims that as a result of the Paris action, "homelessness became an election issue that political leaders were forced to address," with the city's mayor and the leaders of all major political parties eventually supporting the Chartre du Canal Saint Martin, which "called for recognition of housing as a legally enforceable right, an end to temporary shelter and new affordable public housing." 27,000 new shelter beds were also erected.

Despite being one of the wealthiest nations in the world, there are approximately 300,000 homeless across Canada. Vancouver, called "the world's most livable city," has the highest number of homeless persons. This population has jumped three-fold since the city won the Olympic bid, despite city and provincial promises to increase social housing and programs in the lead up to the Games.

Organizers from both actions claim that a comprehensive national housing strategy is necessary to combat homelessness within Canada. Currently, the country is the only member of the G8 that does not have such a strategy, leaving jurisdiction to individual provinces and cities. Without national coordination, advocates claim, there is little accountability and even less coherence, with housing policies shifting year-to-year, vulnerable to changing budgets and political maneuvering, and variable by location.

This has not always been the case, however. Prior to 1993, Canada was considered to have one of the best housing policies in the world, with approximately 800 new social housing units built in Vancouver annually. But massive budget cuts at the national, provincial, and city level has resulted in the UN calling the country's homelessness situation "a crisis."

Critics point to the Winter Olympics as demonstrative of skewed spending and misplaced priorities. "We want to see the social, the economic, priority of homelessness and housing," said rally speaker Libby Davies, NDP Member of Parliament for Vancouver East. Advocates claim that instituting more social housing is actually cost effective: a 2007 study by the government of British Columbia showed that $55,000 was spent on a non-housed person annually, compared with $37,000 for each person with a roof over their head.

Pivot's red tents are meant to create more awareness about the issue. Says Reilly Yeo, Social Media coordinator for the campaign, "most Canadians are not aware of how desperate the housing situation is." Davies added at today's rally, "we want to say to [Olympic] visitors...please notice what is going on, the reality...Speak out and be one with us in solidarity to say homelessness should not exist in a wealthy country like Canada."

Reverend Ric Matthews of Vancouver's First United Church, located in the heart of the DTES, encourages compassion and empathy towards those living without shelter. Speaking at the rally, Matthews said: "we need to see the family that's right there in front of us. We must live as a family, we must live with one another." Rather than simply providing shelter, "we need places where people feel at home, this is not about warehousing people."

A First Nations rally speaker from the DTES Power of Women Group, responsible for organizing many pro-housing initiatives throughout the Winter Games including the Olympic Tent Village [5], called for increased support from allies. "We need all the support we can get. We're just as human as the rich people...but they can't see us.

"We need justice now."

Davies congratulated activists for their work and encouraged fellow politicians to support a national housing strategy. "We have to continue social activism," she said, adding that she supports both Pivot's campaign and the Tent Village, "but we also have to work on the political side." The high rate of homelessness "is not an accident," she added, "it's not [homeless] people's fault. There are political decisions that were made...conscious, deliberate decisions."

Davies is author of Bill C304 [6], which advocates for a national housing strategy. The legislation was suspended in light of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's prorogation of parliament. "Even though Harper shut down parliament...when we go back that bill will still be there, and we will fight tooth and nail to get that passed." While the bill has already received support from many members from the Liberal and NDP parties, Davies says that it needs Conservative support. "Call Conservative MPs," she encouraged rally attendees. "Demand to know why they haven't been supporting this."

Yeo says that the red tents will not disappear when the Olympics are over. "We'll be continuing this in Vancouver, and hopefully in other cities as well." Am Johal, member of the IOCC and organizer of the 2010 Homelessness Hunger Strike Relay, reiterates that the pro-social housing momentum felt during the Games must continue. "This movement doesn't end the day the Olympics are over."

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