Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is recruiting publicists to plot strategies to promote a legal right to housing, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. .“Affordable housing for all is an ambitious goal and we cannot do it alone,” said CMHC in a notice. .“We’re mobilizing the expertise and energy of governments, non-profits, lenders, developers, social entrepreneurs, and co-ops to create the future of housing.”.No budget was provided. Staff said a publicist will be hired by June 19 “to develop a strategic communications plan and associated tactics and to support the council in planning and execution of numerous communications and marketing objectives.”.Parliament passed the National Housing Strategy Act in 2019 to appoint a Housing Advocate and National Housing Council. The act enshrined a right to adequate housing into Canadian law. .The notice recommended Parliament “eliminate tax incentives and institute capital gains taxes for real estate investment trusts.” It did not elaborate. .Cabinet has not detailed the legal effects of its statutory right to housing to date. .“We believe every Canadian should have a safe and affordable home,” said former housing minister Jean-Yves Duclos..“We will keep working very hard to give every Canadian a safe and affordable place to call home.”.Former CMHC CEO Evan Siddall testified at the Senate National Finance Committee in 2019 the right to housing included true accountability. Siddall did not explain. .He said the CMHC's goal is to ensure every one in Canada has a home they can afford and meets their needs by 2030. .“It is absolutely an aspirational goal and a bit of a moon shot,” he said. .A report from the Canadian Human Rights Commission said on February 22 Parliament should expropriate apartment buildings owned by landlords who “violate human rights.” .READ MORE: Feds should expropriate buildings from bad landlords, Human Rights Commission report suggests.The report said Parliament “should expropriate housing owned by financial firms when their business strategies are known to violate human rights, including the right to adequate housing, whether via plans to raise rents, renovict, or reduce the quality of housing.”.It acknowledged large corporate landlords, including real estate investment trusts, own about 344,000 rental units across Canada — 20% of the country’s rental housing stock..“Because the profits for shareholders and executives are achieved by extracting more from tenants through higher rents and often reliant on displacement, the financialization of rental housing works against the realization of the right to adequate housing,” it said.
