Indigenous communities across Canada often face critical housing shortages and the Mi’kmaq of Newfoundland are no exception. The Flat Bay Band’s No’kmaw Village Tenants Strategy helps people with lived experience craft strategic housing plans that will allow more Mi’kmaq to return home.
The financialization of housing, according to the United Nations’ Human Rights Commission, “occurs when housing is treated as a commodity—a vehicle for wealth and investment—rather than a social good.” Admittedly, the subject sounds as dry as month-old toast, but it is critical to understanding why, in a society as wealthy as ours, so many people cannot afford an appropriate place to call home.
There is a huge gap between student housing supply and demand in the greater Toronto area. In the absence of adequate residences, many students result to living in dubious, downright dangerous or illegal conditions; or they pay a very high price—whether it is on the private market or for a university residence. HOUSE (Housing Ontario University Students Equitably) intends to change things by setting up affordable non-profit housing projects for students, first in Toronto and then in various Ontario cities.
For a 145-year-old organization, it takes courage and a little humility to begin a process of profound self-examination. Accueil Bonneau, an iconic Québec organization in the fight against homelessness, has taken this path to aid in achieving its ultimate goal: ending chronic homelessness in Montréal.
For people with disabilities, “accessibility” means much more than a ramp or an elevator. From countertops to bathroom doors, most lodging fails to take their needs into consideration and finding affordable, adapted housing is the biggest barrier of them all. One Québec City group is working to tear down that wall with a housing inventory, an outreach campaign and by incentivizing builders to embrace “inclusive design” standards.
