New minister won’t say housing is human right
‘It is absolutely a human right,’ say Tories
Is housing a human right? Progressive Conservative Leader Tony Wakeham said “absolutely.” NDP Leader Jim Dinn said, “Indeed.” Newly appointed Housing Minister Fred Hutton wouldn’t give an opinion.
In response to a direct question from The Independent editor-in-chief Justin Brake, who asked, “Do you believe housing is a human right?” Hutton replied, “I think that at this point in time, I’m not going to answer your question, or give a label to that — whether or not it is — but I mean, I know everything is being reviewed at all times on what something is or isn’t.”
The questions were posed by Brake after question period outside the House of Assembly on Monday.
HOUSING AS A RIGHT
Seventy-five years ago, housing was recognized as a human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In 2019, the Government of Canada recognized housing as a human right in the National Housing Strategy Act.
Most recently, Canada’s federal housing advocate, Marie-josée Houle, released a report on homeless encampments, part of which called for provincial governments to integrate the human rights language in the national act across all government legislation, policy and communications.
Hutton said he hasn’t yet read Houle’s report, but he plans to, noting he was just sworn in as the new housing minister on Tuesday morning last week.
NO TENT CITY VISIT YET
Hutton said he has not yet visited tent city in St. John’s. He said he “likely will” go there, though he’s not sure when. However, he said staff from various government entities are there daily.
“We have our staff down there at all times, every day, going down and making sure that people who are there are given options so they don’t have to stay there. There is no reason why anybody needs to be there. There are options provided each and every day, not just to folks there, but everywhere,” Hutton said.
‘IT IS ABSOLUTELY A HUMAN RIGHT’
Wakeham said housing “is absolutely a human right, and needs to be dealt with that way, and if the new minister of housing is not prepared to do that, then there’s a problem right off the bat with the new minister of housing because, fundamentally, that’s exactly what it should be,” Wakeham said.
Dinn said, “Housing is indeed a human right.”
“Ask the people who are still in tent cities if it’s a human right,” Dinn said.
“Ask the people who are on moderate incomes, the seniors who can’t afford rent, the young people who are paying mortgage-like rents, but can’t afford to save for a house, families who are in danger of being evicted, and I would have to say that they would very clearly state that it is a human right.”
HOUSING AS COMMODITY
Dinn said the provincial government is treating housing as a commodity.
“They have left it to the private sector and financialized corporate landlords which have basically exploited people who are just trying to find a decent place to live. That’s always been the issue here.
“But if you treat it as a human right, then government’s got to get involved to make sure that there’s affordable housing for people so that they’re not forced to live in shelters. We’ve seen the explosion of shelters over the last, I would say, decades, and under this administration, which indicates that, as far as they’re concerned, it’s the Band-aid solutions that count.
“But if you start with the fact that it’s a human right, well, that’s going to guide your decision-making as to what you need to do.”
‘THAT CAUSES ME GRAVE CONCERN’
Dinn also commented on Hutton’s response to the question.
“Personally speaking, when I hear a minister waffle on whether housing is a human right, that causes me grave concern, and indicates to me that, really, the commitment is not there as much as I would hope,” Dinn said.