Tent encampments prove 'exactly how broken' Canada's system is, federal housing advocate says

A new reporton tent encampments across Canada calls for urgent action from all levels of government to end what the federal housing advocate describes asa "life and death crisis."

Marie-Jose Houle said herreport, released Tuesday, is the first of its kind in Canada. The report titledUpholding Dignity and Human Rights outlines six calls to action to address ongoing homeless encampments across Canada.

"It is a physical manifestation of exactly how broken our housing and homelessness system is from coast to coast to coast in Canada. It needs urgent measures," Houletold CBC News.

"Government must act immediately to save lives."

Houle launched a review intohomeless encampments in February 2023and released an interim report in October. The final report comes as communities across the country grapplewith encampments and residents without safe, consistent shelter.

According to the final report, an estimated 20 to 25 per cent of homeless people across the country live in tent encampments, affecting not just many cities but also rural regions, including northern Saskatchewan, Labrador andNunavut.

Houle's reportcalls for the implementation by Aug. 31 ofa national encampments response plan that would ensures that those living in encampments have access to basic necessities, like clean water, food and health care.

It also calls for speedysolutions to permanent housing issues that are driven by federal, provincial and local governments, and that are based onpeople's living experience.

"It is an issue of life and death for a lot of people.And sowe need immediate action and then we need some long-term action," said Houle.

"Government is really good at responding on the immediatebut then they forget the last piece, which is about the permanent solutions."

WATCH | A Toronto housing advocate says unless root causes are addressed, the problems will only get worse:

'People are dying': Co-ordinated response needed to housing crisis, advocate says

7 months ago

Duration 5:10

Lorraine Lam, a housing outreach worker in Toronto, says encampments will keep growing until systemic issues are addressed.

Housing supply not only cause of crisis

While the federal government has "really couched" housing supply issues as the main cause of homelessness, said Houle, more complex issues includingcolonialism, trauma and poverty, as well asbarriers to the shelter system are at fault.

While some temporary housing solutionsare better than others, she said, they are often unsanitary and cause people to lose sight of the need for long-term measures.

"Shelters are important. They're there for emergencies. That's not a place for people to live," said Houle.

"Just because people experiencing homelessness are no longer visibly experiencing homelessness to the public, [it]doesn't mean that they are not vulnerable anymore or that the issue is solved."

In St. John's, concerns about shelters aren't new. Atent encampment sprang up across the street from Confederation Building, the seat of the provincial government, in October. The encampment latermoved to Bannerman Park in the downtown area, and has been reduced from 40 at its heightto about a dozen people.

Mark Wilson, a housing advocate who has been volunteering his time with the city's encampment, said it's no surprise some peopleprefer a night in a tent toan overnight stay at a shelter.

"Some of them are disgusting. So why would you want to be there? There are issues of safety in the shelters, as well. People have their stuff stolen," he said.

"There's a reason that people are still here andwhatever that reason is, theybelieve it's better than what they're being offered."

WATCH | In December, St. John's tent encampment residentGregory McCaindescribed why he doesn't feel safe in shelters:

Give me a door I can lock and hot water, says tent city resident who says for-profit shelters arent answer

8 months ago

Duration 1:08

Gregory McCain says hes worried a new task force which was formed to find local solutions to homelessness and housing will offer rooms in for-profit shelters to people living at the Bannerman Park tent encampment. McCain warns there are safety issues, including drug use, and says he feels much safer living in a tent than accepting that option.

He agrees that for those choosing a tent over a shelter,adequate supportneeds to be provided instead of taken away as happened in St. John's at the end of November, when city hall brieflyclosed public washrooms inBannerman Park, citing increased vandalism. The city reversed its decision a couple of days later, after a public outcry.

"People need water, people need food, people need heat. And these are basic human rights," said Wilson. "We had to fight for bathrooms here. That kind of thing just shouldn't happen."

New solutions needed for broken system, St. John's advocate says

While areport on tent encampments is "a step in the right direction," he said, everything hingeson the political will to find solutions.

"Here in St. John's, this problem is only going to get worse if the federal, the provincial and municipal governments don't work together to eradicate this issue," said Wilson.

"Folks here at this encampment are being offered the same solutions that they've been offered for months.Sothey're not being listened to. What they want is a home. What they want is alocked door that they can feel safe in."

Listening to people across the country who have experienced homelessness, Houlesaid, will becriticalin successfully addressing the issue.

"What they're saying is valuable becausethey do hold a very unique perspective of what it is that they're living and what the solutions need to look like," she said.

Houle says she's hopeful the report'srecommendations will spark meaningful discussions.

"It's not about politics. It is about saving lives. And lives matter. And no one thinks that encampments are a solution. They absolutely are not. But this is what people are choosing. And Canada has to have something in place to make sure that this is no longer what people are choosing," she said.

"There's a lot of people watching. There is a lot at stake. And so, I think there'sa lot to get right here."

The report will now be submitted to federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser, who, according tothe National Housing Strategy Act, has to respond in writing by June 12.

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