Canadians Strongly Support an Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy
November 20, 2020
OTTAWA – National Housing Day is Sunday, November 22, a day to recognize the important work of housing providers across Canada. To underscore the importance of housing to the over 80% of Indigenous peoples living in urban, rural and northern regions, today the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association’s Indigenous Caucus released the results of a nation-wide survey revealing that a strong majority of Canadians want the federal government to develop an urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing plan to address the significant housing disparities facing Indigenous peoples living in these settings.
Abacus Data conducted the survey on behalf of the Indigenous Caucus in October 2020. The key results include:
- Over half of Canadians believe that Indigenous peoples who live in off-reserve locations have worse housing conditions than non-Indigenous peoples. This sentiment is felt strongest among those 60 and over, residents of the Prairies and Atlantic Canadians.
- Over 60% of Canadians would support a national strategy to help improve the state of housing for Indigenous peoples in urban and rural settings.
- 70% of respondents found it personally important to them that Indigenous peoples are involved in the implementation and oversight of the housing strategy.
“These results demonstrate that Canadians agree that the federal government needs to implement a distinct housing strategy for Indigenous peoples in urban and rural settings, and that Canadians are in favour of Indigenous peoples themselves designing and overseeing such a strategy” stated Robert Byers, Chair of the CHRA Indigenous Caucus and CEO of Namerind Housing in Regina, Saskatchewan. “It is time for the federal government to follow through and announce such a policy as soon as possible”.
“The data proves that a majority of Canadians are acknowledging the painful reality for Indigenous Peoples, it’s long overdue that the government expand their moral concern and take action, added Margaret Pfoh, CEO of the Aboriginal Housing Management Association in British Columbia. “It’s time for the Canadian Government to create structural changes and dismantle the colonial practices that debilitates Indigenous Peoples from accessing housing.”
In October, the CHRA Indigenous Caucus launched its “For Indigenous, By Indigenous” campaign to draw attention to the discrepancy in housing conditions faced by the 80% of Indigenous peoples who live in urban and rural settings, and to convince the federal government to implement an urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing strategy. Today’s poll numbers demonstrate strong support for such an initiative. More information on the campaign, as well as a full report on the poll results, can be found at www.forindigenousbyindigenous.ca.
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For more information, please contact:
Steve Sutherland, Manager, CHRA Indigenous Caucus
ssutherland@chra-achru.ca
NT5
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