Madam Speaker, my riding of Vancouver East has the third largest urban indigenous community in the country. We also had the largest homeless encampment in this country. That encampment has now been taken down, but people are still homeless on the streets and I see tents everywhere. The winter months are here; it is wet and it is cold.
The most glaring omission from the national housing strategy was an urban, rural and northern “for indigenous, by indigenous” housing strategy. As the CHRA indigenous caucus pointed out, Canada’s distinctions-based indigenous housing strategy left a huge gap for 87% of indigenous peoples living off reserve and had called for the government to address this huge housing gap.
The proposal for a fourth strategy calling for specific programs and investments for urban, rural and northern indigenous peoples backed by budget measures was supported unanimously by indigenous and non-indigenous members of the CHRA. That was back in 2018. Despite the Liberals saying that they are committed to a “for indigenous, by indigenous” urban indigenous housing strategy, we have yet to see one materialize.
Budget after budget, the Liberals failed to deliver. In response to budget 2021, Robert Byers, chair of CHRA indigenous caucus, said the absence of such a strategy in budget 2021 is a disgrace. Tim Richter, president and CEO of the CAEH, and co-chair of the government’s National Housing Council called it “the most glaring disappointment”.
In this throne speech, there was zero recognition of the need for a “for indigenous, by indigenous” urban, rural, northern housing strategy, despite the fact that the core housing need for indigenous households is the highest in Canada. The Northwest Territories is at 22.3%, Yukon at 24.1% and Nunavut is at 44.3%.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer most recently reported that 124,000 indigenous households are in core need, including 37,500 who are homeless in a given year. The annual affordability gap is $636 million. Winnipeg has the highest number of indigenous households in need of housing estimated at 9,000, and Vancouver is second at 6,000.
We also know that indigenous peoples are 11 times more likely to use a homeless shelter. The latest point in count shows that 7,000 indigenous persons are in shelters or unsheltered across 61 communities.
We need the government to stop with the talking points. It is time to take action. I am calling on the minister to include a “for indigenous, by indigenous” urban, rural and northern housing strategy and the creation of a national housing centre designed and run by indigenous housing providers in this fiscal update.
It is absolutely essential for the government to take action. If the government seriously wants the community to believe that reconciliation is the top priority for the government, it needs to take action. I do not want to hear from the government members who get up to pat themselves on the back to say what a great job they are doing. They do not have to look far to know what I am saying is true. All they have to do is come to my riding in Vancouver East and I will take them down to the streets. They will see for themselves—