A roof over our heads: One step closer to a national housing strategy

Access to affordable and decent housing is something many Canadians take for granted, but it is an issue of great importance. In 2004, one in seven Canadian households was paying 30% or more of their incomes on housing. The issue of homelessness is significant in most of Canada’s biggest cities, such as Vancouver and Toronto, as well as smaller urban communities. Yet there is no national housing strategy in order to assure all Canadians have access to affordable and appropriate housing.

Throughout the 1970s, 80s and early 90s, the federal government administered a program for affordable housing which provided homes for over two million Canadians. So, what happened?

The federal support for this program was eventually cut in 1993 in order to invest more resources in paying off the deficit, and responsibility for housing was given to the provinces. The costs were too great for most provincial and territorial governments to maintain the level of support.

Libby Davies, an MP from Vancouver’s East end, has been engulfed in this issue since the mid 1990s. Coming from one of the more notorious neighbourhoods as far as urban homelessness and poverty goes, Davies has seen, first hand, the need for a housing strategy.

Since her election to Parliament in 1997, Davies has introduced several motions for the creation of such a strategy, with little success. But as of September 30, her latest private member’s bill, Bill C-304 an Act that would secure affordable housing for all Canadians, passed second reading.

The first reading of a bill occurs when that bill is introduced in Parliament. When a bill passes through second reading, as wth Bill C-304, that means it is approved in principle and it is then sent before a parliamentary committee for clause-by-clause review. If the committee approves the bill (with or without amendments) it is sent back to the House for a final vote.

In drafting the bill, Davies consulted dozens of non-profit and community organizations, working on the frontlines of housing and homelessness. Mayors of both major and small urban centres also joined with Davies in recognizing the need for such a strategy within their own communities.

The bill will now be presented to the Committee for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development, and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. Davies acknowledges that much work is still to be done to get this bill through the House.

The opposition parties all voted to support Bill C-304, while only one government MP voted in favour. Among those who voted to support the motion, there are still concerns about the specific content of the bill. These details will be discussed and debated within committee.

Nevertheless, this is a step toward a new affordable housing strategy and putting a roof over the head of every Canadian.