ICHA's Position Statement on the National Housing Strategy: A Place to Call Home

On November 22, 2017 the Government of Canada released its first ever National Housing Strategy, A Place to Call Home. Importantly, the strategy is explicitly framed as a rights-based approach to housing that will affirm the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

In response to the Government of Canada’s calls for public consultation on its National Housing Strategy, and with the full support of the Board of Directors, we are pleased to share with you ICHA’s position statement entitled Just Healthy Housing: Housing Rights Depend on Health Rights and the Prioritization of Homelessness.

We are very pleased that the just released Final Report of the Advisory Committee on Homelessness echoes many of ICHA’s concerns. ICHA, however, goes much further in highlighting the place of the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health within the right to adequate housing itself and calls for Indigenous self-determination within both the health and social housing sectors. While we await the imminent release of a newly developed Federal Homeless Partnering Strategy, we are mindful that, though this may be helpful in many important ways, the rights-based approach to housing espoused by the Government of Canada establishes that the foundation of homelessness prevention and mitigation rests in general housing policy and legislation itself.

Sincerely,

Dr. Andrew J Bond. ICHA Medical Director

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