Some of the consistent themes arising from the reports of Canada’s National Advisory Council on Poverty include:
- Indigenous poverty
- Reducing poverty for those made most marginal
- Setting an income floor above the poverty line
- Access to benefits
- Poverty prevention, especially through affordable housing and reducing food insecurity
Of these, I would like to focus on Indigenous poverty and affordable housing – two of the more complex and yet urgent aspects of poverty reduction.
Prosperity in a post-colonial Canada
The main recommendation of the Council regarding Indigenous poverty is to follow the recommendations and calls to action of previous reconciliation processes – particularly those of the commissions on residential schools and murdered and missing indigenous women. The key here is that prosperity without self-determination will likely be short-lived or culturally degrading. It is important to note that the word “poverty” itself is steeped in a western, industrial world view. The Council also notes a lack of information on the prosperity of Indigenous communities. Some progress has been made on adjusting the Market Basket Measure to northern communities, factoring in the transport costs for fly-in communities as well as the costs of maintaining Indigenous identity and connection to the land.
The shape of a co-operatively developed future with more prosperity in self-determined Indigenous communities is sketched in a report on poverty as a determinant of health. Important elements include:
- Making partnerships with economic leaders
- Offering the dignity of work to Indigenous people of working age
- Strengthening an Indigenous public sector to teach and care for future generations
This latter component would reflect the unique nature of Indigenous government, valuing the familiarity of community members and the professionalism of skilled public servants.
Towards a fairer housing market
Canada, like other english-speaking economies, has a high level of homelessness. New Zealand, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada all have more than 3.5 homeless people per thousand. Like these other economies, Canada has seen a 2.5% annual decline in home ownership and an increasing median age of first home buyers. This is happening despite an increase in the housing supply that is faster than the increase in population from 1990-2020. Canada is particularly susceptible to high housing prices as it did not see a correction in the housing market during the 2008 sub-prime mortgage crisis. Unlike the United Kingdom and Ireland, Canada does not have a strong public housing sector, nor is there much co-operative housing. With a tradition of home ownership, there is not a focus on purpose-built rental housing.
The Canadian federal government launched a housing initiative in 2017, which is performing well according to its own benchmarks. The key aspects of the federal government’s approach are to:
- Build more homes
- Make it easier to rent or own homes
- Help Canadians who cannot afford housing
This latter point involves more engaged social services in a Housing First strategy to help address the disability and substance use issues that make it difficult to pay market rates for rent. However, the Federal Housing Advocate, a role set up as part of the initiative, is critical of the strong support given to the private sector and of the financialization of real estate.
Getting real
No level of government has the funds to single-handedly spark indigenous self-directed economic growth nor the funds to drive a housing sector worth 13% of the country’s GDP. Still, we have a duty to address the rights of Indigenous Peoples and to be serious about the right to shelter for all Canadians. Solutions will take time – partly through growing the pie but also through dividing the pie in a way that allows dignity for all. The land in our cities should not belong to the highest bidder. Nor should the skills of our builders and the foresight of our developers be harnessed in a way that leaves so many people in the street. Market signals are undoubtedly the most efficient way for getting the “right” amount of housing and the “right” amount of employment for our Indigenous communities. However, they are not the fairest way.