ARTICLE 25: CANADA, WE NEED HELP
UNITED NATIONS — RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING
Brr, cold out there.
Bang! Shut window.
Brr.
Grateful I have a place to couchsurf today.
And then I think about the people who don't have a couch.
The people sleeping outside.
The people in shelters.
The people being turned away.
The people who have nowhere safe to close a window.
We are desperate.
And I don't think we can keep waiting for another housing announcement, another promise, another election or another five-year plan.
Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes housing as part of an adequate standard of living.
So I am asking the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing to look at what is happening in Canada.
I am asking you to do the same.
Send your own letter.
Tell them what is happening where you live.
Tell them what rent costs.
Tell them what assistance provides.
Tell them how long you have been unhoused.
Tell them about shelters.
Tell them about waiting lists.
Tell them about couchsurfing.
Tell them about seniors, young adults, families and single people who simply cannot find housing they can afford.
Don't exaggerate. Don't make things up. Tell the truth about your own experience.
And ask the UN to look at Canada.
SEND YOUR LETTER
UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing
📧 hrc-sr-housing@un.org
You can write your own letter, use the letter below as a starting point, or simply send a few paragraphs explaining what is happening in your community.
WHAT WE ARE ASKING
We are asking the United Nations to:
• examine Canada's housing crisis through the Special Rapporteur's mandate;
• communicate with Canadian governments about the situation;
• examine whether people are being denied meaningful access to adequate housing;
• look at the gap between housing costs, incomes and available assistance;
• listen to people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity;
• and urge Canada to take urgent, concrete action.
We are also asking Canadian lawyers and human-rights organizations to examine what legal options may be available to people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, including whether a class-action proceeding could be appropriate.
I don't know whether a class action is legally possible.
That's why we need lawyers to investigate it.
But I do know this:
People are suffering now.
And winter is coming.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
Federal.
Provincial.
Municipal.
Three levels of government.
Different responsibilities.
Different programs.
Different explanations.
But there is only one person experiencing homelessness.
That person doesn't care which level of government is responsible when they are standing outside in the cold.
They need a home.
They need somewhere safe to sleep.
They need somewhere they can actually afford.
AFFORDABLE FOR WHOM?
That is the question.
We have heard “affordable housing” for years.
But affordable according to what income?
What about someone receiving assistance?
What about a senior?
What about a young adult?
What about a single woman?
What about someone who has worked most of their life but hasn't reached full pension age?
What about someone who has been unhoused since 2019?
What about me?
I am grateful for a couch today.
But couchsurfing is not housing security.
And gratitude should not be the measure of whether someone has an adequate place to live.
So I'm asking people across Canada:
Write the letter.
Send the email.
Tell the truth.
Tell the United Nations what housing looks like where you live.
Maybe one letter won't change anything.
Maybe hundreds will get someone's attention.
Maybe thousands will.
I don't know.
But I know what happens if we remain silent.
Nothing changes.
And we have been waiting long enough.
ARTICLE 25.
HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT.
CANADA, WE NEED ACTION.
UNITED NATIONS, PLEASE LISTEN.
We are desperate.
And we are asking for help.
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