Dear Member of Parliament;

Canada is still the only major industrialized country in the world without a National Housing policy or strategy. Thousands of Canadians who live in poverty spend years waiting for affordable social housing in spite of the fact that the United Nations considers housing a basic human right. I urge you and your party to endorse Bill C-400, the Secure, Adequate, Accessible and Affordable Housing Act when it comes before the Legislature for Second Reading during this session of Parliament. Our national government must take responsibility for coordinating the efforts of all levels of government and encouraging the participation of the private and nonprofit sectors in order to address this issue on behalf of the most vulnerable Canadians.

RE: BILL C400, SECURE, ADEQUATE, ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACT

Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada and Ministers of the Crown;

The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, Toronto Central Council has been assisting our neighbours in need in Toronto since 1850. Annually, 1200 volunteers in the Greater Toronto Area make over 20,000 visits to people who are economically marginalized. We have witnessed firsthand how the lack of access to safe, affordable housing keeps people mired in poverty. We have also seen how families who obtain stable, affordable housing are able to rise out of poverty and improve the quality of their lives, and so become productive, contributing members of their communities.

Canada is still the only major industrialized nation in the world without an official National Housing policy or strategy. This is unacceptable while thousands of Canadians wait in vain for affordable housing. We urge your government to put partisanship aside and support Bill C400, the Secure, Adequate, Accessible and Affordable Housing Act. It would be a significant step in fulfilling Canada's obligations as a signatory to the United Nations International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that recognizes access to adequate housing as a basic human right. But far more important, it would mean that Canadians, who for years have tried to find adequate and affordable housing, may finally realize that dream.

Studies have demonstrated that the lack of adequate affordable housing is the prime cause of poverty. As the federally funded At Home program has effectively demonstrated, putting housing first in dealing with society's most vulnerable citizens has reaped economic rewards that exceed the initial investment. It is important to recognize that Bill C400 does not require any significant new expenditure for the government, but instead requires it to take a leadership role in animating and coordinating the resources currently available in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

Just as we all depend upon the leadership of our national government to secure our interests in any time of crisis, we urge the government to adopt a similar approach in this time of crisis for many Canadians by endorsing Bill C 400. We need strong national leadership that will assemble and organize the necessary resources to overcome the poverty that pervades the lives of far too many Canadians simply because they do not have adequate, affordable housing.