No more encampment evictions, says federal housing advocate

Canada’s federal housing advocate is chiming in on the Furey government’s plans to evict unhoused people living at the Tent City for Change encampment in St. John’s.

“Evictions destabilize people and expose them to a greater risk of harm and violence,” Marie-Josée Houle told The Independent in a written statement Wednesday. “All governments have an obligation to respect and protect the human rights and dignity of encampment residents. What that looks like in practice is putting in place alternatives to evictions that are designed following meaningful engagement with encampment residents. The ultimate goal must be to offer people permanent, adequate housing options as quickly as possible.”

On April 30, the province posted signs around the St. John’s encampment that prohibit “temporary, semi-permanent or permanent structures,” “loitering,” and “open flames,” effectively criminalizing unhoused people seeking shelter at Tent City.

For seven months, advocates and residents of the tent encampment have been asking for adequate housing in lieu of the broken system of mental health supports and temporary and emergency shelters, where many unhoused folks are turned away or leave due to unsafe conditions.

In February Houle released a report on the state of tent encampments across Canada calling on all levels of governments to recognize the human rights of unhoused people. Weeks later, provincial Housing Minister Fred Hutton said he hadn’t read the report and would not say whether he recognizes housing as a human right.

Last month, the provincial government told the Canadian Press it agrees with federal housing legislation and international law – both of which recognize housing as a human right – but has not publicly stated it will immediately apply a human-rights approach to policy on housing and homelessness.

“Both federal housing legislation and international law recognize adequate housing as a fundamental human right. We agree with these recognitions, and are supporting the implementation of the National Housing Strategy,” department spokesperson Marc Budgell said in a written statement on April 19. “Our focus is not currently on making legislative changes, but on delivering practical solutions to ensure everyone in this province has access to adequate housing.”

‘A very human issue’: Hutton

During a scrum with reporters Tuesday, Hutton used the word “human” in response to a question, but at no point said the words “human” and “rights” together. “This has always been, not since last week, but this has always been, first of all, a very human issue about wanting to find safe and affordable housing for people. But also safety. Safety is paramount,” he said, referring to a tent that burned last week due to a propane tank-related fire.

The Liberals’ move is precisely the thing Houle’s report tries to prevent. Beyond calling on governments to “immediately end forced evictions of encampments, particularly on public lands,” Houle says such evictions are a “violation of human rights, as contained in section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the right to adequate housing under international law.”

Instead, she writes in the report, governments should “put in place alternatives to removal of encampments that are designed following meaningful engagement with encampment residents to find solutions that meet their needs.”

On Tuesday Transportation and Infrastructure Minister John Abbott, whose department posted the signs, told reporters the government did not engage residents to discuss the matter.

Houle also says the “role of police and by-law officers should be de-emphasized in responses to encampments,” and that “police, by-law enforcement, and emergency service need clear direction to halt the confiscation of belongings, surveillance and harassment, which violate the human rights of encampment residents. All enforcement measures undertaken must be compliant with human rights standards.”

On Tuesday Abbott told reporters his department hired private contractors to remove tents from the encampment. Video taken by volunteers at the encampment show masked men carrying black garbage bags away as police officers look on.

The Independent asked the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure how it measured its decision to post the signs against the federal and international laws recognizing the right to adequate housing, which the province now says it agrees with. The department did not respond by the time of publication.

Hutton and Abbott are justifying the decision to evict residents of the encampment by arguing the options available to them, including the new transitional housing facility near the airport, are reasonable alternatives to living in tents.

But Tent City residents and community volunteers have repeatedly shared experiences in St. John’s shelters.

“Residents of Tent City who have availed of housing offers and been placed in shelters have expressed concerns about living conditions within the shelters,” reads a new message template posted online for supporters to send to their elected officials. “There have been reports of low food quality, safety threats from roommates, minimal privacy, unhygienic living standards (including mold & open drug use), etc. Tent City has become a safer option to live for many.”

The Independent heard similar stories from residents during two visits to Tent City in November and March.

According to the United Nations’ special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, “forced evictions constitute gross violations of a range of internationally recognized human rights, including the human rights to adequate housing, food, water, health, education, work, security of the person, freedom from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and freedom of movement.” They’re also “often linked to the absence of legally secure tenure, which constitutes an essential element of the right to adequate housing.”

The Independent will continue to follow this story.