Policymakers are being urged to end forced evictions, strengthen municipal capacity and adopt a rights-based approach to address the growing prevalence of encampments and homelessness in Canada.
During a Thursday webinar between B.C. Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender and federal housing advocate Marie-Josée Houle, the pair called on government leaders to develop co-ordinated strategies, rectify systemic failures, respect residents’ autonomy and deliver supportive housing.
With winter weather around the corner, and concerns over homelessness, substance abuse and mental health featuring prominently in last month’s provincial election, there is renewed urgency to address the challenges faced by unhoused individuals regionally and nationally.
The webinar explored what it means for housing to be a human right, with a special focus on the outdoor encampments that have proliferated in B.C. and across the country particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Govender and Houle said government leaders should prioritize meaningful engagement and community-led decision-making, rather than performing harmful evictions and taking a paternalistic approach that ignores the legacies of capitalism and colonialism, especially in relation to Indigenous peoples.
“What it really boils down to is that all governments in Canada have the obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the right to adequate housing for everyone living in Canada,” said Houle.
“The right to adequate housing means that all people are equally entitled to live in dignity and in a safe and secure home, and that everyone should be able to access housing that meets their needs without discrimination or harassment.”
Adequate housing is more than four walls and a roof, she said. It must provide protection from forced evictions and be affordable, habitable, spacious and culturally appropriate. It must also provide water and sanitation, and be accessible to people of all abilities in a location near basic services such as health care and education.
The speakers focused their remarks on the growing prevalence of encampments in public parks and elsewhere.
Although they are not a new development, encampments have become more visible in the past few years. According to a 2022 national survey by the federal government, 81 per cent of surveyed officials said the number of encampments increased in their communities since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tents, encampments and shelter beds are not adequate housing, the speakers said.
“If an individual refuses to accept a particular option, for example due to a lack of security or economy or privacy or safety in that setting, the governments need to provide another form of acceptable housing,” said Govender.
Although there is no systematic data collection regarding encampments, a 2024 report by Houle’s office cited estimates that at least 35,000 individuals are unhoused at any given time across the country, with up to a quarter living in encampments.
“This is consistent with reports from frontline service providers who talk about thousands of people currently living in encampments across Canada,” the report said.
In their remarks, Govender and Houle noted that encampments have no quick fixes, and should be acknowledged as an unfortunate reality rather than being swept under the rug through NIMBY-driven clearings.
While encampments don’t meet important needs regarding safety, health care, heating, cooking, sanitation, potable water, electricity and waste collection, some residents report feeling that they are “the best in a series of bad options,” according to Houle.
Encampments can be hazardous, with heightened risks of gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, fires, and the theft of belongings and other items of survival. To address these, the speakers said co-operation must be established among all stakeholders. The solution won’t be found through criminalization, stigma or tickets for bylaw infractions, but through a lens of human rights and dignity.
“Evictions cause harm at so many levels, including the loss of personal items as well as carefully curated items for survival,” said Houle.
“I recently met with residents from CRAB Park [in Vancouver] who shared examples of park rangers confiscating baby clothes from a tent in the park while their mother was receiving medical treatment. I also regularly heard stories about tents being slashed during so-called clean-up operations,” she said.
“These examples and many more demonstrate the total lack of regard for the dignity, rights and humanity of people who are unhoused. These actions – we would never do that to people who are housed. We would never go into a stranger's home and say, ‘This is garbage, this isn’t good, what are you doing with that?’ and then just get rid of it for them or destroy them. There’s no question that these actions really undermine trust.”
