Imagine that you’ve been chosen to work with the government to “progressively realize” the human right to adequate housing. You know something about housing, having worked in the field for many years. But “progressively realizing” the right to adequate housing? How does that happen?
These were questions facing Canada’s National Housing Council (the Council) when it first began its work in 2020. The federal government had just passed legislation to align Canada with international law about the right to adequate housing. The Council is part of Canada’s new apparatus to do that.
The Council sought guidance from the National Right To Housing Network (the NRHN). The NRHN is a good source of guidance because its members include people who have detailed knowledge of the right to housing and people with a lot of experience of human rights law in Canada. The literature review, which is linked below, is the result of that request for guidance. In this post, we’re calling the NRHN’s literature review the NRHN’s review.
The Council adopted the NRHN’s review as a guidance document in 2021. Since then, the NRHN’s review has been useful to the Council in its work. For example, in 2023, the Council convened a Review Panel to investigate financialization in purpose-built rental housing. The Review Panel has issued a report, which discusses findings from its investigation. There are multiple references to the NRHN’s review throughout the Review Panel’s report.
But the NRHN’s review isn’t just for the Council. It’s for all Canadian residents. It gives clear guidance about rights to adequate housing in Canada. It also describes the process for “progressively realizing” the right to adequate housing, and provides the legal decisions to implement the process.
The NRHN’s review can guide all Canadian residents in realizing the right to adequate housing. It sets out guidance on new terms and processes in a short and readable Executive Summary. The NRHN’s review is supported by chapters with more detailed explanations and references to still more documents. The NRHN’s review helps to understand:
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- the connection between Canadian and international law
- how the right to adequate housing cascades through federal, provincial and municipal governments
- why priority effort should be focussed on those most in need
- how to assess whether enough is being done
- the opportunities for individuals and group to move Canada toward achieving the right to adequate housing for all residents.
For readers who don’t call Canada home, the NRHN’s review could be a helpful review of international law, and stands an example that could be written for other jurisdictions.
You can read the NRHN’s review at the National Right To Housing Network: A Literature Review on the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Housing
The Council’s official position on the NRHN’s review is posted here. It is one of several documents that the Council’s first review panel sourced when considering the Financialization of Purpose Built rental housing. Try: The Right To Adequate Housing In Canada: Another Step On That Path
