Acute Housing Crisis In Canada

This perspective holds the view that the causes of homelessness lies outside of an individual’s control, and are often the result of a failure of public institutions. Structural causes are often those that affect the opportunities and the social environments for individuals, and as a result leads to a critical shortage of affordable housing, a lack of adequate income, and even discrimination (Gaetz, S., Donaldson, J., Richter, T., & Gulliver, T. 2013). For many, the lack of affordable housing - which is arguably the main contributor to immigrant homelessness in Toronto - may materialize from interwoven forms of discrimination and oppression based on an individual’s race, gender, social class, and even religion. Due to the low average household incomes of immigrants, the demand for affordable housing is further heightened. A study done in Toronto comparing homelessness and housing issues amongst women, revealed that compared to Canadian-born women, non-status migrant women had the most unstable pre-shelter housing, and stayed in shelters much longer compared to the other groups that were interviewed (Paradis, E., Novac, S., Sarty, M., & Hulchanski, J. D. 2010). This study supports the perspective that immigrant homelessness is the result of the failure of public institutions who are responsible for the policies which govern the

This paper will argue how Canada's housing market is at an all time high, we are known in Vancouver for having the most expensive housing market. This expensive market is not just a Vancouver problem, it is an issue growing through out the nation and is depriving the average citizen to be able to purchase a house in there life time. There is a major issue with the state of our market and how it effects out current citizens. Issues have been arising where the average wage in Vancouver is estimated at seventy seven thousand per family house hold, yet the average costing home as reached between five hundred thousand in the

With the arrival of large numbers of immigrants, there was also a strong negative impact on Aboriginal people. Some Aboriginal people had to leave the residence because of poor housing conditions. The shortage of housing and poor housing conditions have forced many Aboriginal people to choose unsafe housing and unsecured housing in the communities. What the aboriginal people want is what we have, to protect and freely exercise their cultural lifestyle and language. In our contemporary framework, their cultural elements can be preserved and explained, they have faced hundreds of years of social and political discrimination against discrimination and racial discrimination. They wish to be able to access to power, resources, status and meaningful decision-making capacity. In addition to these things, Aboriginals wish to be seen differently as well, not “different” in a negative way. They wish that they can have the right to protect

Within the City of Toronto, there is a heavy concentration of social housing, in the form of both houses and buildings, in the space South of St. Clair Avenue, bordered by Jane St. to the West and Woodbine Avenue to the East. Within this space however, rather than being evenly spaced out, social housing developments are clustered within certain neighbourhoods, such as in and around Parkdale and between the neighbourhoods of Moss Park, Regent Park, and the Garden district. Outside of this space, generally speaking, social housing is placed further apart with some exceptional clusters, such as the 18th and (portions of) the 4th community housing units, as well as the Yonge-Eglinton area. In the peripheries of the city, social housing developments are mostly located along major arteries, and there are very few houses, as opposed to buildings.

Different ethnic backgrounds immigrate to Canada making it a very multicultural society. Immigrants coming to Canada have made it progress to a more multicultural society, making other nations believe that this is the case, however this does not include native societies that have been living in Canada for the longest period of time. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how Aboriginals live in Canada. This paper argues that aboriginals in Canada are not treated with the same equality as non-aboriginals livening in Canada, even though Canada is known as a multicultural society. By studying the history of Aboriginal settlement in Canada

Councillor Joe Cressy is a great supporter of the park and believes the city needs to commit to building the new parkland even though the budget might be tight due to other necessities like transit.

Canada 's housing market is at an all-time high, they are known in Vancouver for having the most expensive housing market. This expensive market is not just a Vancouver problem, it is an issue growing throughout the nation and is depriving the average citizen to be able to purchase a house in their lifetime. There is a major issue with the state of the market and how it affects the current citizens. Issues have been rising where the average wage in Vancouver is estimated at seventy-one thousand per family household, according to the Vancouver Sun (2014), yet the average costing home as reached between five hundred thousand in the municipality to over one million within Vancouver, according to articles by Beth Lindsay (2015) of the Vancouver Sun, and Troy Landereville (2015) of The Maple Ridge Times.

The results of the government’s efforts to assimilate Aboriginal people throughout Canada’s history has effected multiple generations of families and continues to have devastating effects on First Nations communities today.

The labeling of individuals and groups as ‘different’ is part of the process of creating social hierarchies, which represents the foundation of oppression (de Leeuw, Kobayashi, & Cameron, 2011). This story brings to light the denial of systematic racism of the indigenous people in Canada. It was established that although Canada prides itself in the great variety of culture and ethnicity and religion. However, despite such practices, racism is still a significant issue. Oppression is a contemporary issue for indigenous people because Canadians are still ignorant about aboriginal history. There is a misconception that aboriginals are either living in an idyllic utopian society or in a primitive world. “underprivileged” and “disadvantage”, lazy,

Under this situation, there are some issues on the reserves. Due to the limitation of the on-reserve housing market and contaminated water supplies, some Aboriginal people live in the closed communities with high instances of poverty, substance abuse, suicide, unemployment, and mortality. Therefore, improving the development of on-serve housing market is becoming more and more important (Hanson, n.d.).

The assessment of Canada’s housing policy is based more upon the need of its citizen versus the right. Over the years, homelessness has developed in size and complication in Canada (Gaetz, Tarasuk, Dachner, & Kirkpatrick, 2006). Originally, the homeless crisis was a major concern of urban centers like Montreal, Laval, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Toronto, but rising frequency of homelessness in the suburbs is compelling an immediate response (Laird, 2007). In response to the surmounting homelessness that Canada is facing, the Federal Government of Canada proposed $120 million annually from April 2014 until April 2019 with $700 million in new funding to renew its Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) in Action Plan 2011(Government of Canada, 2016). The response to the surmounting threat of homelessness is comparable to the response the United States taken with the PATH policy. Similar to the United States’ policy, Canada’s response is community-based to the need of the citizen afflicted. However, there are key differences in policy such as the PATH policy offers outreach services, screening and diagnostic treatment services, and case management services that are more individual intensive (Benefits.Gov, 2016).

The focus of this paper is to discuss homelessness today in Canadian cities. Canada continues to struggle with its national issue of homelessness, in which the Indigenous population is overrepresented. Research shows that “6.97 percent of the urban Aboriginal population in Canada is homeless, as compared to a national average of 0.78” (Belanger 2013, p.4). Though the reasons for homelessness vary from person to person, within the Indigenous community, multiple common factors contribute to the misfortune Aboriginal peoples continue to face. Housing conditions and limited employment opportunities on Native Reserves leave people wanting to leave, but the high cost of living in cities makes it hard to settle down. As a result, many Indigenous

The evidence verifying that such a large percentage of the homeless are Indigenous suggests that Indigenous people are not receiving “dignity of the human person”. Due to an increase in poverty, in conjunction with an increase in housing prices, the cost of living has become unaffordable for many. According to Kids Under Cover, in Queensland alone in 2011, 19,832 people were homeless (date unknown). To assist these people, the government is providing them with haircuts, clothes, and accommodation information, medical and legal advice. In order to support the more than 100,000 people who are homeless in Australia, the government is working to make houses cheaper and more affordable.

Proper housing is crucial to a human being’s wellbeing, both mentally and physically. It is fundamental in ensuring good mental health, physical health, and it sets the basis for social inclusion in society. Housing is necessary for human beings to be able to survive and be able to protect themselves from the elements. It is recognized as a basic human need alongside food and water; thus, it is surprising that an estimated minimum of 235,000 people in a developed country like Canada remain homeless and an estimated one in five people cannot afford housing (Heffernan, Tracy; Faraday, Fay; and Rosenthal, Peter, 2015). Statistics such as these beg the question of whether or not the right to housing or the right to affordable housing is recognized in Canada. The answer to this question is quite complicated as there is no clear right in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that recognizes a specific right to housing or shelter, however, under section 7 and section 15 of the charter which state that “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice” and “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability(Canadian

The Indigenous people residing in Canada are struggling to have their sovereignty and their right to self determination recognized. From the past to present, Indigenous groups continues to struggle in many aspects of their life. Common obstacles that these people come across includes of poor health, lower level of education and income, and higher rate of unemployment and suicide. As a result of these obstacles Indigenous people are facing, many have come up with resolutions and answers to these problems. In fact, there are numerous ways citizens and governments can fix these problems in a respectful and beneficial