Good morning.
Thank you for having me here today. My name is Celeste Hayward and I'm from the Aboriginal Housing Management Association in British Columbia.
The Aboriginal Housing Management Association, which we call AHMA, has 25 years of expertise in advancing housing rights for indigenous people in urban, rural and northern communities. AHMA comprises about 55 indigenous housing and service providers located across British Columbia, off reserve. They manage 95% of all indigenous housing units located off reserve. We administer funds in partnership with B.C. Housing for 5,521 units for indigenous families, and we are in development with 2,133, so within one year we will have over 7,000 units.
The programs and services that AHMA members provide include affordable housing units, housing shelters, transition homes, supportive housing and assisted-living facilities, including complex care. Many of AHMA's members also offer support services that include homelessness prevention, parenting skills, mental health programs and substance use support. In terms of scale, AHMA members make up over one-third of indigenous housing providers in Canada.
AHMA works with members and providers to reclaim self-determination through culturally appropriate or culturally supported housing that honours indigenous traditions in meaningful ways. It's very important to connect to the sense of belonging and the way of knowing. This is critical for the 80% of the indigenous population who live in urban, rural and northern living situations without the financial or cultural support of their nation at times and who are heavily impacted by inequity, racism, colonial oppression and generational trauma.
By treating those in need as rights holders and experts on what is required for cultural safety, a dignified life and culturally supported housing, CMHC can uphold the human rights of urban indigenous families, which includes the right to housing.
As Canada's leading indigenous housing expert, AHMA welcomes the federal government's commitment to grow the affordable housing supply in Canada's largest cities every year through the $4-billion housing accelerator fund. When implementing the fund, it is critical that the unique needs of urban indigenous people are considered, including deeper commitments to cultural safety, culturally supported housing and supportive wraparound services.
In recognition of the ongoing injustices and Canada's violent treatment of indigenous people, AHMA calls on the federal government and the CMHC to ensure HAF, the housing accelerator fund, specifically addresses intersectionality affordability issues. As the CMHC has recognized, indigenous households and those led by women, especially single mothers, are most likely to be in core housing need. Racialized, 2SLGBTQAI+ and new migrant households, as well as people with disabilities, are also experiencing disproportionate rates of housing needs and homelessness.
We specifically call on the administrators of the housing accelerator fund to prioritize projects in partnership with indigenous organizations; to prioritize projects with clear objectives to address the core housing needs; to address the barriers AHMA members are reporting with high-cost development fees to begin building; to reconcile with indigenous people through the federal lands initiative by taking special consideration to allocate those properties back to the local indigenous communities where those properties are located; to ensure the accelerator fund helps to make it mandatory for municipalities to include urban indigenous housing needs in their housing plans and OCPs; and to balance the need for affordable housing with the need for culturally supported housing and the additional needs of indigenous people in Canada.
Only through meaningful engagement with AHMA and urban indigenous housing and service partners across Canada can the social, economic and indigenous rights of urban, rural and northern indigenous peoples in Canada be claimed and protected.
I don't think that's my full four minutes, but that's all I have to say so far. Thank you very much for the opportunity.