There is the National Housing Strategy Act, which says that the federal government's housing policy recognizes that housing is a basic human right as defined under international human rights law and that the government will do what it must to progressively realize that right. I don't see how they can get around not doing something to protect renter households.
I actually put that in the letter of March 2020, right at the beginning of the pandemic. I thought the federal government should have come out very strongly and clearly in calling for an eviction moratorium. They said, “Well, that's provincial jurisdiction.” I still think the federal government could have shown leadership and should still be showing that kind of leadership.
What's happening in this country right now around rental arrears is very scary. Those 250,000 households, you have to understand, are at least 500,000 people. That's many children and that's single mothers. That's indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, newcomers and refugees. We do not want those people on the streets of Canada or living in cars or parks.
This is very serious stuff, and in light of the pandemic and the health risk to the individual, the family, and then the broader community, I think the federal government has no choice but to do something if they really want to breathe life into the National Housing Strategy Act and their commitment to the right to housing.