Close X
Saturday, November 23, 2024
ADVT 
National

Liberals Put 'Right To Housing,' Anti-Poverty Laws Into Omnibus Budget Bill

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 11 Apr, 2019 08:05 PM

    OTTAWA — The federal Liberals are using their omnibus budget bill to legislate a "right to housing" and the requirements on future government to not drop the concept.


    The budget bill sets into law rules around the Liberals' 10-year national housing strategy, valued at more than $40 billion, and creates two new oversight bodies meant to make sure the spending reduces homelessness.


    A national housing council is to advise the government on the effects of the strategy and a new housing advocate is to report annually on systemic issues preventing Canadians from finding affordable and safe places to live.


    Reports would also be required every three years on how well the strategy is meeting national goals and furthering "the progressive realization of the right to adequate housing."


    In each case, the minister in charge of the strategy would have to "reply and act" on the reports, said Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, "which will ensure there is sufficient pressure on the federal government to meet the legislated right to housing."


    Duclos is to discuss the right to housing at an event Thursday morning.


    Characterizing housing as a human right is meant to provide recourse, usually through tribunals, to anyone wrongfully denied a home for reasons such as ethnicity, religion, or gender identity, and put pressure on the federal government to help make the right a reality.


    "The federal government has admitted to having an obligation when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable of Canadians," Duclos said in an interview Wednesday. "There will always need to be a continuing conversation (and) that's exactly what the bill says — the national housing strategy will need to evolve, but I think we've made major steps in very little time."


    The Liberals had been looking into setting the right to housing into law since early in their mandate, when they met with housing advocates about ways to pump more money into affordable housing.


    But as time wore on, those same advocates became concerned about whether the government would have the time needed to pass a law before the next election.


    Putting the housing strategy law into the budget bill is tacit acknowledgment that time was running short. Inside the budget bill, it is assured passage by the summer.


    Also in the budget bill is the government's poverty-reduction law, which was part of a separate bill introduced in early November that hasn't been debated since the end of that month.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Alberta NDP Promises Balanced Budget Later Than UCP, But Says UCP Math Is Wrong

    Alberta NDP Promises Balanced Budget Later Than UCP, But Says UCP Math Is Wrong
    Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley promised to balance the province's budget by 2023-24 as she unveiled her party's election platform Sunday

    Alberta NDP Promises Balanced Budget Later Than UCP, But Says UCP Math Is Wrong

    Caitlan Coleman Details Night She Fled From Estranged Husband Joshua Boyle

    Coleman and Joshua Boyle were kidnapped together in Afghanistan in 2011 and spent years in captivity before being freed by Pakistani forces and returned to Canada in October 2017.    

    Caitlan Coleman Details Night She Fled From Estranged Husband Joshua Boyle

    'It Still Knocks You Down:' First Responders Reflect On Humboldt Broncos Crash

    When Brian Starkell drives a particular stretch of highway in Saskatchewan, his stomach drops as he approaches the intersection that changed so many lives.    

    'It Still Knocks You Down:' First Responders Reflect On Humboldt Broncos Crash

    71-Year-Old Woman Struck In Hit-And-Run While Crossing Street In Vancouver

    71-Year-Old Woman Struck In Hit-And-Run While Crossing Street In Vancouver
    VANCOUVER — Police are investigating a hit-and-run in South Vancouver that sent a 71-year-old woman to hospital.

    71-Year-Old Woman Struck In Hit-And-Run While Crossing Street In Vancouver

    Insurance Corporation Of BC Challenged Over Injury Payouts, Disputes Resolution

    Insurance Corporation Of BC Challenged Over Injury Payouts, Disputes Resolution
    A legal battle is shaping up in British Columbia with the trial lawyers association promising to fight a move by the government-run auto insurer

    Insurance Corporation Of BC Challenged Over Injury Payouts, Disputes Resolution

    Engineer Didn't Check For Right Materials On Stage That Collapsed, Inquest Hears

     An engineer who approved the plans for a stage that collapsed before a Radiohead concert in Toronto didn't check that the right materials were being used to support the roof because he trusted the contractor, a coroner’s inquest heard Friday.

    Engineer Didn't Check For Right Materials On Stage That Collapsed, Inquest Hears