Massey College Ethics Series: Is Housing a Right?

Canada’s National Housing Strategy Act recognizes that “the right to adequate housing is a fundamental human right affirmed in international law.” Yet if adequate housing is a right, it is a right that thousands of Canadians are not enjoying. Homelessness is rising in many communities, affordable rental housing remains out of reach for many low-income Canadians, and younger Canadians face increasingly difficult housing choices.

What does it mean in practice to call housing a human right? Does it impose an obligation on governments to ensure that everyone has access to adequate and affordable housing? How should such a right be defined—and who is responsible for delivering it?

Join us for a Massey College Ethics discussion on “Is Housing a Right?”, chaired by Tom Axworthy, Public Policy Chair at Massey College, with Vikram Handa, Director of Maya Group, a housing provider; Professor Shelagh McCartney of Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Urban and Regional Planning; and Arvind Krishendehall, Junior Fellow and Vanier Scholar at Massey College.

The panel will explore the ethical principle behind a right to housing—and the practical question of what it would take to make that right meaningful.