Municipalities have international human rights obligations, just like all other orders of government in Canada. These obligations stand even when a municipality declines to acknowledge them. Municipalities remain accountable.
The Government of Canada has ratified the right to housing in the National Housing Strategy Act (2019). The National Housing Strategy Act states, “It is declared to be the housing policy of the Government of Canada to recognize that the right to adequate housing is a fundamental human right affirmed in international law.” Barrie receives funding, through the County of Simcoe, from the National Housing Strategy grounded in these human rights standards.
Furthermore, as a Built For Zero Community, the County of Simcoe has committed to ending chronic homelessness by December 31, 2024.
The right to housing does not mean a government must end homelessness overnight. But it does mean moving towards solutions progressively and ensuring that people living in homelessness do not experience further violations of their human rights.
We acknowledge and are grateful that some steps have been taken by the County of Simcoe to increase affordable and supportive housing options within Barrie, and that some Barrie Bylaw Enforcement Officers and Barrier Police Officers have taken a compassionate approach in some of their interactions with people living in tents.
The fact remains that the affordable and supportive housing supply does not meet the demand, that shelter beds are not always available and/or a suitable option, and that interactions with enforcement officers have not been consistent and should not be reliant on the individual officers’ mood and/or personal beliefs about people who are unhoused.
Everyone deserves a place to call home. In the meantime, and in alignment with the Simcoe County Alliance to End Homelessness (SCATEH) Position Paper on Encampments and A National Protocol For Homeless Encampments in Canada, it is our position that:
The Government of Canada has ratified the right to housing in the National Housing Strategy Act (2019). The National Housing Strategy Act states, “It is declared to be the housing policy of the Government of Canada to recognize that the right to adequate housing is a fundamental human right affirmed in international law.” Barrie receives funding, through the County of Simcoe, from the National Housing Strategy grounded in these human rights standards.
Furthermore, as a Built For Zero Community, the County of Simcoe has committed to ending chronic homelessness by December 31, 2024.
The right to housing does not mean a government must end homelessness overnight. But it does mean moving towards solutions progressively and ensuring that people living in homelessness do not experience further violations of their human rights.
We acknowledge and are grateful that some steps have been taken by the County of Simcoe to increase affordable and supportive housing options within Barrie, and that some Barrie Bylaw Enforcement Officers and Barrier Police Officers have taken a compassionate approach in some of their interactions with people living in tents.
The fact remains that the affordable and supportive housing supply does not meet the demand, that shelter beds are not always available and/or a suitable option, and that interactions with enforcement officers have not been consistent and should not be reliant on the individual officers’ mood and/or personal beliefs about people who are unhoused.
Everyone deserves a place to call home. In the meantime, and in alignment with the Simcoe County Alliance to End Homelessness (SCATEH) Position Paper on Encampments and A National Protocol For Homeless Encampments in Canada, it is our position that:
- those experiencing homelessness are victims of a system that is violating their human rights;
- those living in encampments in the absence of affordable housing options are not camping, they have established alternate housing;
- that an offer of a shelter bed is not the same as an offer of housing;
- that the right to housing, including alternate housing such as tents, takes precedence over the discomfort of housed people who do not like to witness visible poverty;
- that with shelters at capacity and no housing to offer, the safest and most humane option is to allow people who have set up alternate housing on public property to remain there.