Razing homeless camps is not the answer

Encampments are a rights claim we must respect, says Bradley Lafortune.

On May 11, Edmonton city council voted unanimously to hire more staff for its encampment response team, including park rangers, clean-up staff and housing outreach staff to contend with an expected surge in encampments this summer.

However, this response fails to address the basic question: where are the people displaced from these encampments meant to go? There is simply not enough supportive housing available to meet the needs of homeless Edmontonians. And while homelessness in Edmonton has more than doubled since the pandemic, fewer bridge housing options are available.

Due to provincial funding cuts, the city is slated to lose a shocking 44 per cent of emergency shelter beds by June — meaning that even a last resort is slipping away. The city's Homelessness and Encampment Response Strategy Council Report itself says that its strategy does not work, and yet little is being done to address this crisis in a humane way that puts the needs, well-being and human rights of Edmontonians suffering from homelessness first.

The crisis of homelessness is getting larger as the solutions for people stuck in cycles of extreme poverty are disappearing, leaving them with no options. Let's not ever forget that people in homelessness are our neighbours, friends, and loved ones — and that many are one job loss or injury away from homelessness. We see heartbreaking firsthand reports of the violence and indignity of encampment displacement and the catastrophe of insufficient housing and the gaping holes in supports that fail people for years.

This is an abject failure of all orders of government to live up to their obligations and responsibilities. Housing is a human right. It is essential to survival, just like food and water. This human right was enshrined in Canadian law through the National Housing Strategy Act on

June 21, 2019, bringing Canada in line with international standards, at least on paper.

This basic human right means that all people in Canada have the right to live in security, peace and dignity. It means the government is responsible to all to ensure that obligation is met within the shortest possible time frame. It also means that we must be giving vulnerable groups the highest priority to meet at least the basic standards of housing according to Canadian and international standards.

Sounds great in theory, but does this translate into real help for the most vulnerable? Are we really doing everything we can to ensure homeless Edmontonians aren't suffering in our river valley or on the streets? Are we prioritizing prevention through public health expenditures and public services rather than the $385 million in spending on Edmonton Police and other flawed enforcement tools?

Not even close. Decades of underfunding for public supportive housing from the provincial and federal governments have left cities in the lurch for adequately dealing with this crisis. However, the city is not helpless. They can make decisions that, while insufficient to address root causes, will not make things worse. And, to be clear, the council-endorsed encampment strategy will undoubtedly make things worse.

Displacement of encampments is not the answer. We need to come back to first principles, according to a human rights approach to housing. People living on this land should be able to expect the most secure, peaceful and dignified option available. From our municipal leaders, we need creativity, willingness to engage directly with those impacted and bravery to try new solutions to this rapidly escalating crisis in the face of callous disregard from the province.

And we need transparency and accountability from all levels of government for specific, measurable and timebound goals to eradicate homelessness and ensure all people live in dignity. As Leilani Farha, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing, told attendees of a recent symposium hosted by Public Interest Alberta and the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness: “an encampment is a rights claim. It is a claim to housing … because there are simply no other options.”

We must respect this rights claim and strive for urgent adequate housing options at the same time. In the absence of other options this summer, municipalities and the province have an obligation to respect the human rights of our homeless neighbours. Anything less is inhumane.

Call and write your councillor to demand that they reprioritize their spending to create bold solutions to this crisis that put human beings first. Advocate to the provincial and federal governments to invest in high-quality, affordable housing stock so we can address this issue at the root. We can't afford to wait any longer.