UN Calls On Canada To Help Its Children By Upping Its Housing Game

black and white image of police officer escorting Canadian children of Japanese origin on foot through the rain
During World War II, Canadian children of Japanese origin were relocated from their homes in Vancouver to remote communities. Today there are international human rights tribunals where such actions can be challenged.

The UN regularly reviews Canada’s performance on human rights issues. Most recently, the rights of the child have been the subject of scrutiny. In the review process, Canada reports what it has done to the UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee). The Committee also hears from community organizations (the UN calls these ‘civil society groups’) and individuals. The Committee has finished up its review and issued findings and recommendations, which are available to the public.

So, how is Canada doing? There’s good news and areas where things could be better. This post discusses the housing aspects of the Committee’s report.

Canada is commended for its efforts toward ending homelessness and implementing a national housing program. The Committee last reported on the rights of the child in 2016, before the launch of Canada’s National Housing Strategy and passage of the National Housing Strategy Act. In the latter, Canada officially affirmed the right to adequate housing, and explicitly linked that right to the UN’s definition of adequate housing.

The Committee also notes that significant work remains. For example, the Committee discusses that Indigenous children and Black children are more likely to be living in poverty than the country’s children as a whole.

Further, poverty and poor housing conditions go hand in hand. As a consequence, Indigenous children and Black children are taken from their homes and placed in the care of the state more frequently than Canadian children as a whole. To remedy this situation, the Committee recommends that Canada place priority on adding housing that is adequate and affordable so Black children and Indigenous children can live with their families in safe and secure homes.

Why does the Committee’s work matter?

It is interesting that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child have specifically mentioned housing issues in its findings and recommendations. Now that Canada has a Housing Advocate, civil society groups that advocate for the rights of the child have new avenues to press for better housing conditions.

Campaign 2000 is one civil society group that works to end poverty for children in Canada. In 2020, Campaign 2000 reported that one in five children in Canada was living below the poverty line. As well, the rate of poverty was closer to 50% for Indigenous children. Information about Black children was not reported.

In the intervening years, housing costs (both ownership and rental) have risen significantly. There has been no corresponding increase in incomes, especially for people with the lowest incomes. The findings and recommendations from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child should encourage Campaign 2000 to submit a claim to Canada’s Housing Advocate.

Readers in other countries may find this report interesting because it demonstrates how UN reviews can support local advocacy efforts.

You can read the report at the UN Committee on The Rights of the Child: Committee on the Rights of the Child: Concluding observations on the combined fifth and sixth reports of Canada