Letter Writing Campaign

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To: chrystia.freeland@parl.gc.ca, karina.gould@parl.gc.ca, marci.ien@parl.gc.ca, lawrence.macaulay@parl.gc.ca, pascale.st-onge@parl.gc.ca, terry.beech@parl.gc.ca, gary.anand@parl.gc.ca, kamal.khera@parl.gc.ca, randy.boissonnault@parl.gc.ca, jonathan.wilkinson@parl.gc.ca, steven.guilbeault@parl.gc.ca, mary.ng@parl.gc.ca, jenna.sudds@parl.gc.ca, diane.lebouthillier@parl.gc.ca, melanie.joly@parl.gc.ca, mark.holland@parl.gc.ca, Marc.Miller@parl.gc.ca, patty.hajdu@parl.gc.ca, francois-philippe.champagne@parl.gc.ca, ahmed.hussen@parl.gc.ca, arif.virani@parl.gc.ca, seamus.oregan@parl.gc.ca, yaara.saks@parl.gc.ca, bill.blair@parl.gc.ca, marie-claude.bibeau@parl.gc.ca, dan.vandal@parl.gc.ca, dominic.leblanc@parl.gc.ca, jean-yves.duclos@parl.gc.ca, gudie.hutchings@parl.gc.ca, rechie.valdez@parl.gc.ca, carla.qualtrough@parl.gc.ca, Soraya.MartinezFerrada@parl.gc.ca, pablo.rodriguez@parl.gc.ca, ginette.petitpastaylor@parl.gc.ca, filomena.tassi@parl.gc.ca, harjit.sajjan@parl.gc.ca, Anita.Anand@parl.gc.ca, Steven.MacKinnon@parl.gc.ca, Minister-Ministre@infc.gc.ca, PM@pm.gc.ca, sean.fraser@parl.gc.ca

Subject line: It’s time to invest in social housing.

Text:

Canada’s housing crisis will not be solved if those in greatest need cannot access safe housing with rents less than 30% of household income. This will require the expansion and maintenance of social housing. The Government of Canada must take leadership to reach the reasonable targets proposed by the national Social Housing and Human Rights (SHHR) campaign. 

I stand with other supporters of the SHHR campaign who are calling on the Prime Minister and the Minister of Housing to fulfill their legal obligation to realize the human right to housing and:

1. Create a minimum of 50,000 net new rent-geared-to-income social housing units each year for 10 years. These units should be targeted for those experiencing core housing need and homelessness and have rents permanently set at no more than 30% of household income.

2. Invest in the acquisition, construction, operation, and maintenance of new and existing public, non-profit, and cooperative-owned housing that meets the unique and varied requirements of people experiencing core housing need and homelessness.

In November 2023, a consortium of organizations and individuals concerned about housing for low-income individuals and families officially launched the Social Housing and Human Rights (SHHR) campaign. SHHR calls for robust federal investment toward public and non-profit owned rent-geared-to-income housing. Information about the campaign is available at www.moresocialhousing.ca.

I am encouraged that Minister Fraser has committed to develop a full housing plan in 2024 that will show how the federal government will tackle the housing crisis. The for-profit private sector has time and time again failed to provide deeply affordable housing to those who need it most. Substantial investment in social housing supply must be part of this plan to ensure those in greatest need will have a place to call home. I hope you can join us in endorsing SHHR’s call for the right to housing to be secured for all across Canada.