Brr, cold out there.

 Brr, cold out there.

Brr, cold out there.

Bang! Shut window.

Brr.

Grateful I have a place to couchsurf today.

That thought hits differently when you know there are thousands of people who don't have somewhere safe to close a window.

And here we are, talking about housing again.

I just read another promise about making housing more affordable in British Columbia — including turning empty condos into homes people can afford.

Okay.

But affordable for whom?

Because $2,400 rent isn't affordable to someone whose income simply doesn't stretch that far.

And when shelter assistance provides only around $500 toward rent, where exactly is that person supposed to find the rest?

This is where the language starts to bother me.

We hear affordable housing over and over again.

But affordable according to what income?

Affordable for a couple with two incomes?

Affordable for someone with a professional salary?

Affordable for a student whose parents can help?

What about seniors?

Young adults?

Single women?

People living on assistance?

People who have worked their whole lives but haven't reached full pension age?

People who have been unhoused for years?

Affordable is not a slogan. It is a number.

And that number has to match the reality of the people who actually need the housing.

I have been unhoused since 2019.

I know what it is like to move from one temporary place to another and be grateful for every couch, spare room and safe place to sleep.

So when I hear another announcement about how housing is becoming more affordable, I look around.

Where?

Because from where I am standing, British Columbia is the worst I have ever seen it.

And I am exhausted by the spin.

This isn't just about one political party or one level of government.

We have three levels of government in Canada, with different responsibilities, and somehow the person without housing is still expected to navigate all of it.

Federal.

Provincial.

Municipal.

Meanwhile, winter arrives whether governments have figured out how to cooperate or not.

The cold doesn't care which government is responsible.

Neither does hunger.

Neither does an empty wallet.

Neither does having nowhere to go.

And families can't simply keep filling the gap.

Families are struggling too.

Food costs more.

Housing costs more.

Everything costs more.

People can help their parents, their children, their siblings or their friends for a while.

But eventually many families reach the point where they simply cannot do any more.

“I'm sorry. You have to go.”

Then what?

Another shelter?

Another waiting list?

Another couch?

Another night outside?

We have been talking about this for decades.

So yes, let's talk about empty condos.

Let's talk about speculation.

Let's talk about foreign investment.

Let's talk about every part of the housing system that needs changing.

But let's also talk about the person standing outside in the cold tonight.

Because a vacant condo becoming occupied doesn't automatically make housing affordable.

A tax doesn't automatically create a home.

An announcement doesn't put a roof over someone's head.

And a promise doesn't keep someone warm.

We need to stop asking only:

“How many homes are we building?”

We also need to ask:

“Who can actually afford them?”

“Who is being left out?”

“What happens to the people who cannot wait another five years?”

And perhaps the biggest question of all:

Affordable for whom?

Brr.

I'm going to be grateful for this couch today.

But gratitude for having somewhere temporary to sleep shouldn't become the standard we expect people to live by.

People deserve homes they can actually afford.

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ARTICLE 25

UNITED NATIONS — UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Article 25 recognizes a person's right to a standard of living adequate for their health and well-being, including housing.

So when does someone hold Canada accountable?

When does the right to adequate housing become more than words on paper?

I want to see this challenged.

I want lawyers, advocates and people who have experienced homelessness to seriously explore a class-action lawsuit — and whatever other legal avenues may be available — to ask what obligations governments actually have toward people who cannot secure adequate housing.

Because after decades of promises, I think we are allowed to ask:

How much longer?

How many more people have to suffer?

How many more winters?

How many more families have to say, “We can't help you anymore”?

How many more people have to live without a home before Canada says:

Enough.

Housing shouldn't just be something we promise people.

It should be something people can actually afford.