'Do I ghost her again?': Quebec minister's office ignores questions on housing as a human right
The office of Quebec Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau prefers to openly ignore journalists' requests.
This is according to an email obtained by The Canadian Press. The Minister's office was asked about the recognition of the right to housing as a fundamental individual right.
Invited once again to respond a week after an initial request, the press attaché forwarded to The Canadian Press an email that was presumably intended for a colleague: "Shall I ghost her again? If not, general response that doesn't reply to say that housing is a priority for our government?"
It didn't take long for the opposition to react at the end of the day.
"Here's what France-Élaine Duranceau thinks about the right to housing in Quebec," wrote MNA Joël Arseneau on X, formerly Twitter.
"We suspected as much, the reality is even more tragic," he said.
The Canadian Press asked each province if it agreed with the federal housing advocate that housing is a human right, and if it intended to pass legislation guaranteeing it.
As of Friday afternoon, Minister Duranceau's office had still not responded to The Canadian Press' request.
As more and more Canadians struggle to find affordable housing, the country's smallest province is the only one that could benefit from legislation recognizing housing as a fundamental individual right.
Prince Edward Island responded with a link to its Residential Tenancies Act, the first line of which acknowledges that Canada has signed a UN treaty affirming housing as a human right - although critics point out that there's nothing in the provincial legislation to support this right afterwards.
Most provinces did not respond directly to questions, listing a long list of initiatives launched to address the simmering housing crisis.
In Manitoba, the response was that the government recognized "Canada's rights-based approach to housing," and Newfoundland and Labrador indicated that it agreed with federal and international laws recognizing housing as an individual right.
In her report on homeless encampments published on Feb. 13, the Federal Housing Advocate urged each province to recognize in law "the human right to adequate housing as defined by international law."
Marie-Josée Houle wondered in an interview if the provinces simply didn't understand what it would mean to explicitly state that they consider housing a human right.
Houle says that, according to the bilateral agreement they all signed as part of the National Housing Strategy in 2018, this would mean that the provinces would adopt a "human rights-based approach to housing."
For the housing advocate, this means meeting and listening to homeless people and trying to find them housing that meets their needs, rather than deciding what's best for them without their input and forcing them into interim measures, such as shelters, where they don't want to go.
This also includes providing heat, electricity and toilets to people living in homeless encampments if adequate housing is not available, Houle argues.
"Essentially, it's a commitment based on the recognition that homelessness is a systemic problem and that people are homeless because governments at all levels have failed them," she says.
And to the provinces, she says: "We need all the players at the table."
Dale Whitmore, of the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights, argues that the provinces could take a simple first step towards recognizing and respecting housing as a human right by adding a clause to their tenancy legislation stipulating that eviction should be an absolute last resort.
For Whitmore, it is essential that the provinces not only follow Houle's recommendations and adopt legislation that recognizes housing as a human right, but also that they subsequently defend this right. He points out that while Prince Edward Island's Tenancy Act recognizes this right, it offers nothing to enforce it.
"We need regulations that keep rents affordable and protect tenants from rents that are too high," he says.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 26, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests about relationship with Prince Harry
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they're now named Scouting America
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Rape, terror and death at sea: How a boat carrying Rohingya children, women and men capsized
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.