USask to host community discussion on advocating for housing rights
In the wake of a housing crisis and record homelessness in Saskatoon, the University of Saskatchewan’s (USask) Community-University Institute for Social Research (CUISR) is hosting a community conversation to discuss how community members can collectively work towards ensuring housing rights for all.
The conversation will take place Wednesday, February 26 from 10 am to 2 pm at Station 20 West. Designed by CUISR’s Lived Expert Advisory Council and supported by two Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation-Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (CMHC-SSHRC) Partnership grants, the community conversation aims to bring together voices from across Saskatoon. The aim is to develop a report and next steps, including workshops and actions, to maintain momentum and make a difference in housing rights in Canada.
“Many of those organizing this event have shown leadership on housing and homelessness issues, volunteering their time, energy and expertise for decades as well as in the current crisis,” said Debbie McGraw, CUISR Lived Expert Advisory Council member and co-founder and former co-chair of the Canadian Lived Experience Network.
The City of Saskatoon’s 2024 Point-in-Time Homelessness Count, conducted with research support from CUISR and with more than 200 volunteers, identified nearly 1,500 individuals in Saskatoon experiencing homelessness – nearly three times the last count conducted in 2022.
CUISR at USask helps to facilitate partnerships between the university and the community at large to meaningfully engage in social research that supports a deeper understanding of the community and reveals opportunities for improving quality of life. Dr. Isobel Findlay (PhD), professor emerita at USask’s Edwards School of Business and USask co-director of CUISR, said this type of event is crucial for connecting those living in the community with each other and with USask researchers.
“It has never been more important to listen to and learn from one another, from the diversity of knowledges and experiences, so that we can collectively respond to community crises,” she said.
Although housing rights are recognized by international instruments ratified by Canada and by Canada’s own National Housing Strategy Act (2019), it remains unclear how effectively different levels of government fulfil their obligations to uphold those rights. All levels of government have a responsibility to ensure “measures to prevent homelessness, prohibit forced evictions, address discrimination, ensure security of tenure for all, and help guarantee that everyone’s housing is adequate” according to the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Per the National Housing Strategy Act, housing adequacy means meeting seven basic conditions: secure, affordable, habitable, provides basic services, in a location close to employment and services, accessible, and culturally appropriate.
David Fineday, an advocate for housing rights and a member of the local Lived Expert Advisory Council, has raised a ‘’call to action’’ to address what he sees as unprecedented levels of unjust and unfair evictions in Saskatoon communities that has led to pervasive levels of homelessness in the city.
“We need help dealing with landlords because they are violating the rights of their tenants,” he said.
The conversation will bring together community members, housing and service providers, researchers, students and policy personnel to discuss several housing-related questions in community-led small groups. Topics for discussion include rights and barriers to housing, who are disproportionately impacted, potential impacts of programs and policies on housing, what research can contribute to these issues and how communities can more strongly advocate for housing rights.
For more information, see Community-University Institute for Social Research - CUISR | University of Saskatchewan.