Statement made on 01 April 2009 by Senator Art Eggleton
Hon. Art Eggleton:
Honourable senators, a recent report by the Special Rapporteur for Adequate Housing for the United Nations, Miloon Kothari, called on Canada to develop a national housing strategy. Most G8 and OECD countries have responded to the call. Mr. Kothari is joined by many Canadians and Canadian organizations as varied as the Wellesley Institute and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce that have called for a national housing strategy.
The UN report was concerned with the rise in the number of homeless people in Canada. A 2008 factsheet produced by the City of Calgary noted that approximately 4,000 people in that city are homeless, and that was an increase over two years of approximately 18 per cent.
Will the government work with the provinces and develop a national housing strategy?
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