Posts Tagged ‘Right to housing’

What’s next in housing? Getting ready for the 2015 election

July 2nd, 2015 by Safia Lakhani

This post was first published on rabble.ca

Toronto’s housing crisis is well documented: the skyrocketing and prohibitive cost of rent, the lack of funding for repairs to community housing structures, and the growing wait list for affordable housing are just a few of the issues that have received media attention in the past year.

The facts are equally grim across the country: one in four Canadians spends more than 30 per cent of their income on housing, and an estimated 733,275 low-income Canadians are in extreme housing need, spending more than 50 per cent of their income on housing. Over 235,000 Canadians experience homelessness every year, and some 365,000 households are at risk of rent increases or eviction as a result of the end of operating agreements.

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Taking the fight for housing rights to court

December 18th, 2014 by Safia Lakhani

Earlier this year, we considered the Ontario Superior Court’s decision on the landmark Charter application regarding housing rights in Tanudjaja et al. v. the Attorney General (Canada) (“Tanudjaja”). The applicants, four individuals in precarious housing situations, requested the Superior Court make a declaration that the federal and provincial governments had violated their rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: specifically, the right to life, liberty and security (Section 7), and the right to the equal protection and equal benefit from the law (Section 15), by failing to implement a national and provincial housing strategy.

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Does the right to housing belong in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

May 29th, 2014 by Shelina Ali

This week, the Ontario Court of Appeal is hearing an appeal of the 2013 court decision in Tanudjaja et. al. v. Attorney General (Canada) et al. dismissing an application — of four individuals who identified as homeless, together with the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (the Applicants) — concerning the right to housing. The application in Tanudjaja asked the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to, among other things, make a declaration that the Government of Canada’s and the Government of Ontario’s failure to implement a national and provincial housing strategy violates the federal and provincial government’s obligations under sections 7 and 15(1) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter). By seeking this declaration, the application put the issue of whether social and economic rights are embodied in the Charter squarely in front of the court.

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