National Housing Day 2024 Press Release
Jointly published by the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, the BC Housing Action Coalition, and Carnegie Housing Project
November 20, 2024
The BC Poverty Reduction Coalition (PRC) comprises over 80 organizations, stakeholders, and people with lived experience of poverty. Collectively, we advocate for an end to poverty, homelessness, and inequality in British Columbia through public policy and law reform. We recognise the many strategies that must be implemented to address housing needs, including an increase in housing supply, rental assistance, rent regulations, wrap-around supports, and regulatory measures that end the financialization of housing.
This National Housing Day on November 22, we and our partners at the British Columbia Housing Action Coalition and the Carnegie Housing Project support the calls of the Social Housing and Human Rights network who demand:
Creating a minimum of 50,000 net new rent-geared-to-income social housing units each year for 10 years, starting now. These units should be targeted for those experiencing core housing needs and homelessness and have rents permanently set at no more than 30% of household income or social assistance housing allowances.
Investing in acquiring, constructing, operating, and maintaining new and existing public, non-profit, and cooperative-owned housing that meets the unique and varied requirements of people experiencing core housing need and homelessness.
To address this systemic failure, the government must reclaim its central role in shaping housing as a public good. The reliance on market mechanisms and fragmented non-profit efforts only entrenches the speculative forces driving this crisis. Public ownership and control over housing and land are non-negotiable if we are to ensure deeply affordable, dignified housing for all. As Carnegie Housing Project has stressed in This Isn’t Working: 2024 Call for Government Action to End Houselessness: “Build at least 1 million non-market housing units over the next 10 years in Canada. This could provide stable housing for the 2.4 million Canadians currently living below the poverty line.”
The crisis of housing and affordability is not a new one and is rooted in the decline of federal funding for social housing in 1992. It was not until 2019 that the Federal Government recognised housing as a human right and set a goal to eradicate chronic homelessness by 2030. Five years later, we continue to see and support communities across the province increasingly facing the inhumane repercussions of decades of declining funding for affordable social housing. Even when looking at recent housing announcements, such as last week’s commitment to providing more than $574 million to help build 953 new rental homes in Vancouver, we see how low-income people are left out of housing considerations. Within the qualifications of this announcement, 80% percent of the new apartments will be for households earning over $87,000~ a year, with 20% for households earning over $60,000~ a year. This highlights the lack of attention on constructing truly affordable housing for people at income levels like those on PWD assistance, who live on approximately $18,000 a year. The focus on higher-income households reinforces a system that prioritizes profit over people’s basic needs, leaving the most vulnerable without secure, affordable housing.
International human rights law does not treat the right to housing as a mere policy goal or aspiration. As described by the National Housing Network, international law imposes serious obligations on governments to move toward the fulfillment of the right to housing “by all appropriate means” and by applying “the maximum of available resources.”
We encourage media to attend a rally and march for housing led by BC ACORN on Friday, November 22 at 1pm outside Parkside Apartments at 13352 105A.
Quotes:
“It’s atrocious and astounding that in a province as wealthy as BC, thousands of people are forced to live outside because they cannot afford housing, or access housing security. Access to dignified, safe, and affordable housing must be a right, not a commodity. We need all levels of government to work together to ensure appropriate housing for all. British Columbia has the opportunity to provide leadership in supporting a provincial legislative framework for housing as a human right. Every person should have the right to a safe home.” - Rowan Burdge, BC Poverty Reduction Coalition
“Capital’s stranglehold on housing markets must end. Vacancy control, anti-speculation measures, and expropriation of unused or underutilized private properties are necessary to dismantle the grip of landlords and financial institutions. These steps are not just regulatory changes—they are acts of reclaiming housing as a shared resource, shielded from exploitation. Public control of housing is the foundation of a system that prioritizes people, not profit, ensuring stability, equity, and the full realization of housing as a human right.” - British Columbia Housing Action Coalition
“We see housing as not just a roof over one’s head, but a vital part of overall well-being. Housing affects health, education and economic stability for both individuals and communities. We see this echoed in research that identifies housing as a social determinant of health. Equitable access to housing is essential to protect human rights. Evidence shows that Indigenous families, individuals, Elders and youth are disproportionately impacted by the housing crisis.” -Margaret Pfoh, Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA)
“I am not living in a steady place. Because of my immigration status (I am under temporary status), I was denied provincial income assistance and social housing. This is not fair and gives an indication on how the government of Canada treats poor immigrants who are struggling to find their way in this country - starting with a decent, safe home. Today is National Housing Day. Everybody deserves to have a roof under their head, feel safe, in order to live and not survive.” - Nicolas B, DTES resident and member of the Carnegie Housing Project
We call on the Federal government to be an active player not only in allocating resources, but in affirming a rights-based approach to housing rather than a market-based approach. This invites an understanding of the structural causes of homelessness and housing insecurity, and it invites revisiting laws and policies. It has never been clearer that we must treat housing as a right, and not as a commodity.” - Amanda Burrows, First United
“A ‘bomb cyclone’ is hitting Vancouver this week. There will probably be a blizzard in a month, and I know there are literally thousands of people in this city without a safe place to go home to. I talk with some everyday who have no clue when they'll get that call from BC Housing saying they finally have a place to go. Some have been waiting for over a decade for that call. And I know from talking with politicians and government staff that there is no chance they can expect that to change anytime soon, because those who have the power to make housing a basic right choose not to.” - Devin O’Leary, Carnegie Housing Project
For media contact:
Rowan Burdge, BC PRC Provincial Director - rowan@bcpovertyreduction.ca
Chantelle Spicer, BC PRC Campaign Manager - chantelle@bcpovertyreduction.ca
BC Housing Action Coalition - admin@bchac.org
Devin O’Leary, CHP Community Organizer - carnegiehousingproject@gmail.com
