Tomorrow, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources will resume its’ study of Bill C-304, an act to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for all Canadians. Recently, the EFC and StreetLevel: The National Roundtable on Poverty and Homelessness appeared together before the Committee, to speak in strong support of the Bill.
Bill C-304 is relatively simple in its’ content. It calls on the federal government to work in consultation with the provinces, territories, municipalities and first nations’ communities to establish a national housing strategy, “designed to ensure that the cost of housing in Canada does not compromise an individual’s ability to meet other basic needs.”
Simple. And absolutely essential.
Housing is an issue that is generally viewed as being within the jurisdiction of the provincial governments, so federal involvement with it has typically been regarded as anything but simple. While the bill itself is simple, what it would obligate the government to would entail effort. It would require creativity, collaboration and commitment. And it would be worth it.
Bill C-304 is a private member’s bill, which means that it was not the initiative of the Conservative government. Private member’s bills are a means for Members of Parliament to put an issue they are passionate about on the parliamentary agenda. It is rare that a private member’s bill makes it to committee or that it will be passed and become legislation. But occasionally, with a lot of hard work and collective will, some of these important bills do make it into law.
Some recent examples of private members’ bills that have made it into law are Liberal MP John McKay’s Better Foreign Aid Bill and Conservative MP Joy Smith’s Human Trafficking Bill. Each of these, vital, both in what they accomplish and for the attention they brought to critical issues.
Bill C-304 is just as vital.
This bill was introduced by Vancouver MP Libby Davies, co-sponsored by Halifax MP Megan Leslie, both of the NDP. We have asked all MPs to support the bill and send it to committee for proper consideration and study. We have asked party leaders to allow their members to vote freely on the bill, i.e. not constrained by party politics.
We were pleased when this bill passed the vote in the House of Commons at Second Reading and was sent to the committee for study. But it faces an uphill battle yet.
As we told the committee, the time has come for collaborative, coordinated action in Canada on affordable housing. While there are good, necessary and valuable federal funds being directed to initiatives across the country, it is time to move beyond a piecemeal approach that has proven to be both inefficient and insufficient.
It is simply unacceptable for the federal government to not take action on the grounds that housing is not the federal government’s jurisdiction. This is an issue that affects all Canadians, across municipalities, provinces, territories and throughout our first nations’ communities. There is a need for a strategy that crosses these boundaries.
To be effective, strategy development must be inclusive of all stakeholders, including the faith and community-based agencies that are already actively engaged in providing housing solutions. We have learned from experience what works and what doesn’t. And we have learned what it takes to move individuals from street to housing to home.
Canadians are waiting for a sense of vision from our government on issues like housing affordability and adequacy, and poverty reduction. Bill C-304 offers an excellent opportunity to show this kind of vision and leadership in initiating the development of a national housing strategy. It would indeed be a shame if that opportunity were to go unrealized.
We are hopeful that there is sufficient political will to move beyond excuses, beyond jurisdictional challenges, and bring all levels of government together with the faith communities and a range of other stakeholders to do what is essential, and right, for vulnerable Canadians in need of housing.