This report from the Federal Housing Advocate and its recommendations are an urgent call to action to governments at all levels to uphold the human rights and the right to housing of encampment residents.

The report is the product of a year-long engagement process, pursuant to Article 13.1(1) of the National Housing Strategy Act, coming from encampment residents, local advocates, Indigenous governments and representative organizations, municipal governments, human rights advocates, and federal officials from across the country. The report reveals a clear picture of a two-fold human rights crisis. First, encampment residents are at dire risk of harm due to the failure to uphold their basic human rights. Second, the encampments exist only because of a larger, systemic failure to uphold the rights of all people to adequate housing without discrimination.

The final recommendations were informed by what the Advocate learned from the engagement process and build upon the potential solutions included in her interim report published in October 2023.  They call for federal leadership in developing a National Encampments Response Plan and include detailed recommendations for all levels of government.