Our Work

Right to Home

COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerabilities in Canada’s housing and shelter systems.

As we rebuild our urban futures, we cannot risk going back to the way things were—our systems are on the brink of collapse. But they are also on the cusp of transformative change.

CUI, The Shift, and 14 coast-to-coast partners hosted week of virtual film screenings and live panel discussions from coast to coast about what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next, as we (re)imagine the right to home.

Details

Type:

Initiative

Partners:

Presented by the Canadian Urban Institute and The Shift in partnership with the Aboriginal Housing and Mortgage Association, Architecture & Design Film Festival, BC Non-Profit Housing Association, Big Wheel Community Foundation & Big Wheel Burger, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, Canadian Housing & Renewal Association, Canadian Human Rights Commission, Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation, City of Victoria, Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, Maytree, and UDI Victoria.

Right to Home Items

The Shift (incubated initiative)
The global movement to secure the human right to housing
#Housing&Homelessness

COVID Signpost 100 Days
Research on the impacts of COVID-19 on Canadian cities over the first 100 days of the crisis shows that our experiences with the pandemic have depended largely on who we are, and where we live.

What is the right to housing and why does it matter? Lessons from around the world
Joining CUI host Mary W. Rowe for our  series about  what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next, as we (re)imagine the right to home – What is the right to housing and why does it matter? Lessons from around the world – are Shivani Chaudhry, Executive Director, Housing and Land Rights Network (India); Leilani Farha, Global Director, The Shift (Canada); Paula C. Marques, Councilor, Local Development and Housing, City of Lisbon (Portugal); Brennan Rigby, The Shift Aoetearoa Project Lead, Community Housing Aotearoa (New Zealand); and Michel Tremblay, Senior Vice-President, Policy and Innovation, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Homeless during a pandemic: What are the challenges and looming threats?
Joining CUI host Mary W. Rowe for our  series about what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next, as we (re)imagine the right to home – Homeless during a pandemic: What are the challenges and looming threats? are Stephanie Allen, Associate Vice-President of  Strategic Business Operations and Performance, BC Housing; Eddie Golko, Participant, Us and Them; Krista Loughton, Filmmaker, Us and Them; Karen Montgrand, Participant, Us and Them; and Tim Richter, President and CEO, Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. 

Different futures: How do we (re)imagine housing in a pandemic world?
Joining CUI host Mary W. Rowe for our  series about what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next, as we (re)imagine the right to home – Different futures: How do we (re)imagine housing in a pandemic world? – are Leilani Farha, Global Director of The Shift; Ruth Goba, Executive Director at the Black Legal Action Centre; Jeff Morrison, Executive Director at the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association; Margaret Pfoh, CEO of the Aboriginal Housing Management Association; and Michel Tremblay, Senior Vice-President, Policy and Innovation, at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.  . 

How can the right to housing equip local governments to end homelessness?
Joining CUI host Mary W. Rowe for our  series about what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next, as we (re)imagine the right to home – How can the right to housing equip local governments to end homelessness? – are Rebecca Alty, Mayor of Yellowknife, NWT; Ana Bailão, Ward 9 Councillor and Deputy Mayor for the south area of the city, Toronto, ON; Lisa Helps, Mayor of Victoria, BC; Scott McKeen, Ward 6 Councillor, Edmonton, AB; and Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener, ON.

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The Shift (incubated initiative)
The global movement to secure the human right to housing