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A focus on the housing and homelessness crisis

Over the course of 2021-2022, the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate identified evolving systemic housing issues that are of serious concern in Canada: financialization, homeless encampments, and evictions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made these issues worse. They are symptoms of long-standing problems related to the housing system. They are directly impacting people experiencing inadequate housing and homelessness. And they have worrying consequences that infringe on people's human right to housing in Canada.

Last year, we supported research to better understand the drivers of these issues and who they are affecting, as well as create an evidence base for making recommendations to solve them. In the course of this research, we worked closely with scholars, lived experts, and partner organizations to inform our work.

As people in Canada continue to feel the effects of the housing and homelessness crisis, this work will help us shine a light on these systemic problems and push for action to solve them.

High stakes: Financialization putting affordability at risk

Financialization is a term used to describe how housing is treated as a commodity – a vehicle for wealth and investment – rather than a human right and a social good for people and communities.

In 2021-2022, we spearheaded a research project that brought together five researchers to examine the growing role of private equity and investment firms in the residential real estate market and long-term care in Canada.

Globally and in Canada, investment firms have been purchasing rental buildings and then upgrading them and raising rents, forcing low-income tenants out of their homes. Because the business model associated with financialization demands short-term high yield profits, there is pressure placed on locating and purchasing housing that is deemed “undervalued”, which often means housing that is affordable and hence where the most disadvantaged and low-income communities are located. Financialization also affects other sectors of the housing system, including single-family homes, retirement communities, and long-term care homes.

This trend worsened during the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Real estate became a safe profit-making opportunity for large investors in a volatile market, further driving up prices and putting affordability at risk for those most in need.

Financialization is a human rights issue. It has significant consequences for the affordability, security of tenure, and habitable conditions of rental housing for tenants. It is associated with elevated risks of illness and death for seniors and people with disabilities in long-term care facilities.

The goal of this research is to examine the drivers of financialization and its impacts, particularly on low-income, priority groups listed in the National Housing Strategy.

The project includes five papers which tackle diverse dimensions of financialization, including:

The research demonstrates that the financialization of purpose-built rentals and long-term care have had significant impacts for tenants, seniors, workers, and communities. It also points to actions that governments at all levels can take to curb financialization and mitigate its impacts.

The next step will be to share the findings with rights-holders, governments and other stakeholders. This research and engagement will help the Federal Housing Advocate to develop legislative and policy recommendations for government to implement better protections against the financialization of housing and its impacts on people, disadvantaged groups, and communities. Measures to address financialization must put human rights first.

A human rights crisis for residents of encampments

Encampments are not a new phenomenon in Canada. People facing homelessness have at times resorted to establishing informal settlements, here referred to as encampments, to meet their needs for shelter and safety while exercising autonomy and self-determination. National data demonstrates that First Nations, Inuit and Métis people are severely overrepresented among those living outside, in encampments, or in makeshift dwellings.

In 2021-2022, we launched a research project to take a close look at the human rights dimensions of encampments in Canada. We worked with a national network focused on encampments, whose members include people with lived expertise, scholars, advocates, and activists, from communities across Canada.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, shelter spaces decreased, indoor congregate settings became increasingly unsafe, and people lost their livelihoods. This has led to a rise in homeless encampments across the country. Many people had little choice but to turn to living in tents or informal shelters to survive.

A number of people have been harmed and died as a result of exposure, fire, overdose, and other threats to life and safety. Residents also face harassment and violence from state and non-state actors. These conditions amount to violations of fundamental human rights including the human right to housing.

The goal of this research is to highlight the human rights and right to housing dimensions of encampments. The project includes a literature review, a policy scan of municipal by-laws affecting encampments, a scan of media coverage of the issue, and case studies from across Canada.

While the research is still ongoing, it has already identified a number of areas where Canada must do better to uphold the rights of residents of encampments. First and foremost, encampment residents and their advocates have called for the provision of safe, appropriate, and secure housing.

A critical human rights dimension of encampments is the provision of essential services. The right to housing is understood to support other fundamental human rights, including the rights to life and health. Encampment residents frequently lack access to adequate water, sanitation, heat or cooling, and safety measures, and face severe threats to their mental and physical well-being linked to the failure to provide basic services. While select cities have provided some provision of basic services, such as toilet facilities and waste management systems, research suggests that access to basic services remains limited, unpredictable, or absent in many encampments.

Major human rights violations identified by the research are the policing and enforcement measures directed at residents of encampments. Many municipal governments across the country have consistently elected to ticket, issue eviction notices, and remove or destroy tents and equipment, rather than uphold the rights of encampment residents to safety, security, and human dignity. Law enforcement in numerous Canadian cities have employed force during encampment evictions that is disproportionate to the alleged harm caused to public property. The use of such force has resulted in harm, pain, and injuries to encampment residents, advocates, and members of the public.

The research also identified that the treatment of encampment residents amounts to unsafe eviction and forced displacement. Encampment evictions often undermine safety, with encampment residents often displaced to increasingly insecure and unsafe situations. In the absence of basic services, many encampments have self-organized to meet their basic needs and fill gaps in services, such as by establishing centralized tents for harm reduction supplies, water, or food. Encampment evictions frequently undermine these efforts and result in the loss or destruction of these resources and self-established mutual aid systems to meet basic needs. In many cases, encampment residents are asked (or forced) to go to homeless shelters, which may be unsuitable or inaccessible for some people experiencing homelessness. Such forced relocation also undermines choice and self-determination.

Central to the realization of the right to housing is the meaningful participation of people living in homelessness in the design and implementation of policies, programs, and practices. The research shows that encampment residents are frequently perceived in the media and treated by the general public and decision-makers as non-citizens and as nuisances to public safety and public space. These perceptions have led to the widespread failure to meaningfully engage encampment residents in sharing policies and practices that affect them. Encampment residents are often acted upon without any form of consultation, and are not encouraged to participate in informed decision-making regarding cohabitation, nor direct decisions that concern their well-being, tenure, their property and belongings. Processes for decision-making are rarely transparent or clearly explained to encampment residents before actions are taken, and there are few (if any) processes to challenge decisions, propose alternatives, and voice priorities and needs.

All levels of government should work together to plan and undertake concrete actions to ensure the right to housing for residents of encampments. Responses to encampments have been almost exclusively at the municipal level, with little direct involvement from provincial, territorial, and federal governments. While municipalities often have primary jurisdiction over encampments, they often lack the resources and powers to address the underlying structural causes driving homelessness and encampments, such as housing unaffordability, dwindling rental supply, and lack services and supports to make housing accessible for all. The federal government, in particular, has a duty to provide leadership on this issue, and ensure that municipalities have the resources required to fulfill their human rights obligations.

Residents of encampments must also be afforded meaningful participation and engagement in decisions that affect them. Governments at all levels must adopt rights-based approaches to homeless encampments by engaging residents in the design and assessment of the housing and services they require. Shelters are not an adequate response to homelessness. Ultimately, governments must ensure permanent, adequate housing for encampment residents and all people experiencing homelessness.

As this research nears completion, a second phase of the project is being planned, with a goal to engage encampment residents, advocates, and government duty-bearers to identify rights-compliant solutions. As this project continues, it will be critical to amplifying the voices and needs of encampment residents, and holding government to account on its human rights obligations.

Locked out: Security of tenure, evictions and arrears

Security of tenure refers to the right a person has to not live in fear of eviction. It is a key component of the human right to adequate housing. A lack of security of tenure has serious consequences for an individual's dignity, health, well-being, and sense of security. Establishing legal security of tenure and protecting against forced evictions and harassment are key measures for realizing the right to adequate housing. All levels of government are required under international human rights law to adopt appropriate measures to guarantee security of tenure and prevent evictions.

This 2021-2022 research project involved collaboration between the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate, the Canadian Human Rights Commission's legal team, and external legal experts to develop open research and legal analysis on eviction, arrears and security of tenure. The project focused on examining the scope for the Advocate to review and make recommendations on these issues.

Forced eviction is considered to be a violation of human rights. In other words, human rights law dictates that forced evictions should only occur as a last resort and only after a full exploration of alternatives. Evictions that are carried out without due process and without regards to human rights are considered to be a gross violation of human rights and a violation of the right to housing. Evictions based on someone being behind in paying their rent should not happen without first exploring fully any means to resolve these arrears. In addition, under human rights law, relocation to a more affordable adequate housing unit must be considered as an alternative to eviction and eviction must not result in homelessness.

The systemic and structural causes of evictions are well established. A lack of affordable and adequate housing, the financialization of housing, gentrification, racism, sexism, ableism, and other forms of discrimination result in evictions and leave the most disadvantaged at risk of human rights violations.

Tenants across Canada have experienced a crisis of evictions and inadequate housing for decades. Housing instability and the risk of eviction due to rental arrears have increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are only expected to worsen as the provinces and the federal government have wound down their pandemic support measures, including eviction moratoriums and income security efforts like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, while the cost of living continues to rise. Governments must work together to prevent the human rights crisis that could result.

The project includes seven research papers which provide legal analysis and recommendations on diverse issues involved with evictions. These include:

The findings demonstrate that Canada has a long way to go in fulfilling the human right to security of tenure. Laws about eviction and tenants' rights are inconsistent across the country, as are tenants' access to justice and legal representation when facing eviction. Indigenous people, racialized communities, people with disabilities, and other disadvantaged groups face significant barriers to security of tenure, while the impacts of eviction for these groups are disproportionately severe. As the ongoing pandemic continues to affect incomes, and with rapidly rising inflation in housing costs and the cost of living, more and more tenants are at risk of eviction due to rental arrears.

While landlord-tenant law is in the jurisdiction of provinces and territories, human rights law clarifies that the division of powers does not excuse systemic human rights violations. Governments should work together to implement effective laws and programs to protect security of tenure and prevent eviction, especially eviction of disadvantaged households, and eviction into homelessness.

Results of the research were presented at a symposium bringing together scholars, tenants, advocates, and policy makers. Further engagement on the findings of this research will help the Federal Housing Advocate develop legislative and policy recommendations to prevent evictions and uphold tenant rights.

Note: This research contributed to the establishment of the Recommendations to the Minister contained in this report. Please visit the Annex A for a citation of this research collaboration.