Human Right To Housing? Canada Sneaks In A Class Test And A Means Test

Canada is a signatory to the UN-backed International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This document recognizes “adequate” housing as a right.

That’s left many Canadians wondering when Canada is actually going to back up this symbolic action with some solid commitment, both legislative and practical, that tackles shelter for all Canadians.

The good news? It apparently has.

True, on first glance that commitment might seem obscure. But it is actually hiding in plain sight if you parse press releases from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the agency responsible for the rollout of Canada’s newish Affordable Housing Initiative. (One such press release is linked below.)

You won’t have far to dig far. The first sentence is “Hard working middle-class families in Chilliwack deserve a safe and affordable place to call home where they can thrive and spend more time with their children.”

So there you have it. Canada is making a solid commitment to a human right to housing. It is not yet committing to a universal right, mind you, but apparently approaching the notion piecemeal, with a ‘class’ test, and a ‘fitness’ test.

The class worthy of Canadian human rights commitment? Why the middle class, of course. And the means test? They must be hard-working.

Hard-working middle-class seem now ‘to deserve’ or ‘have a right to’ housing. Others? By their clear omission, not so much.

To be fair to the CMHC’s ‘hardest working press flacks in Canada’ ¹, they have hinted at a more inclusionary approach to a human right of housing that might involve other classes, through a quote from the Federal Minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. It seems there is a third, aspirational, test for other classes: they may qualify if they are are working hard to become middle-class.

Catch up on the Canadian commitment to housing as a human right in the following CMHC press release: Making Housing More Affordable for Middle-Class Families in Chilliwack

1. The ‘hard-working’ notion brings to mind a delightful Irish comedy called ‘The Commitments’ which features a bunch of young slackers seeking to better themselves by forming a blues band. (Blues? Dublin?). As part of their own press flackery, the band styles itself ‘the hardest-working band in Dublin’.