Summary#
This bill amends the National Housing Strategy Act to add protections for people living in homeless encampments on federal land and to increase Indigenous involvement in housing programs. It also expands who must be included in planning and monitoring, and adds new reporting rules with success metrics and better data.
- Requires the National Housing Strategy to include measures to prevent removal of homeless encampments on federal land and to identify alternatives after meaningful engagement with residents (Bill s.5(2)(e)).
- Requires processes to ensure Indigenous peoples are actively involved and supported in developing culturally appropriate housing programs; responses to encampments must respect their rights (Bill s.5(2)(f), s.4(e)).
- Adds mandatory consultation with provinces and collaboration with Indigenous organizations to set these measures (Bill s.5(3)).
- Expands participatory processes to include people with lived experience of housing need and homelessness, civil society, and Indigenous peoples (Bill s.5(2)(d)).
- Requires the triennial report to include success metrics developed with Indigenous organizations and longitudinal, disaggregated data (Bill s.18(1.1), s.13(a)).
- Defines “federal land” and “homeless encampment” for clarity (Bill s.2).
What it means for you#
- Households and encampment residents
- If you live in a homeless encampment on federal land, federal policy must include measures to prevent removal and to offer alternatives after meaningful engagement with you (Bill s.5(2)(e)). Federal land includes land owned or controlled by the federal government, plus waters and airspace above it (Bill s.2).
- These protections apply only on federal land. They do not apply to municipal, provincial, or private land (Bill s.2).
- Indigenous peoples and communities
- You must be actively involved and supported in determining and developing housing programs that affect you, and responses to encampments must respect your rights, consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Bill s.4(e), s.5(2)(f), s.5(3)).
- Success metrics for the Strategy must be developed in consultation and collaboration with organizations representing Indigenous peoples (Bill s.18(1.1)(a)).
- Monitoring and reporting must assess impacts on Indigenous peoples and provide disaggregated, long-term data to the extent possible (Bill s.13(a), s.18(1.1)(b)).
- People with lived experience of housing need or homelessness
- You must be included in ongoing participatory processes that guide the Strategy (Bill s.5(2)(d)).
- Federal departments and agencies (e.g., Parks Canada, Transport Canada, PSPC)
- You will need to align policies with Strategy measures that aim to prevent encampment removals on federal land and identify alternatives after engagement (Bill s.5(2)(e)).
- You will need to support expanded consultations, data collection, and reporting required by the amended Act (Bill s.5(2)(d), s.5(3), s.18(1.1)).
- Provinces and territories
- Provincial housing officials must be consulted when the Minister sets measures on encampments and Indigenous involvement (Bill s.5(3)).
- Municipalities and local service providers
- No direct new duties are created for municipalities. However, where encampments are on federal land within municipal boundaries, coordination with federal measures may be needed. Data unavailable.
Expenses#
Estimated net cost: Data unavailable.
- The bill includes no direct appropriations or funding levels (Bill, entire text).
- It creates new planning, consultation, engagement, and reporting duties for the federal government, which may have administrative costs not quantified in the bill (Bill s.5(2)(d)-(f), s.5(3), s.18(1.1)).
- No publicly available fiscal note.
Proponents' View#
- Reduces harmful encampment clearings on federal land by requiring measures to prevent removals and to identify alternatives after meaningful engagement (Bill s.5(2)(e)).
- Advances implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by mandating active Indigenous involvement and culturally appropriate programs (Bill s.4(e), s.5(2)(f), s.5(3)).
- Improves accountability through success metrics developed with Indigenous organizations and better, disaggregated longitudinal data in the triennial report (Bill s.18(1.1), s.13(a)).
- Centers people with lived experience in policy design, which proponents argue leads to more effective, real-world solutions (Bill s.5(2)(d), s.13(a)).
- Clarifies federal responsibility on federal lands by defining key terms and requiring Strategy-level measures, enabling more consistent practices across federal sites (Bill s.2, s.5(2)(e)).
Opponents' View#
- May constrain federal land managers’ ability to clear encampments when there are safety, environmental, or operational risks, because the bill does not specify exceptions or criteria (Bill s.5(2)(e)).
- Creates uneven rules across jurisdictions: stronger protections on federal land than on provincial or municipal land, complicating coordination with local authorities (Bill s.2, s.5(2)(e)).
- Imposes added administrative work (consultations, engagement processes, expanded reporting) without specifying funding, which could strain departmental resources (Bill s.5(2)(d)-(f), s.5(3), s.18(1.1)).
- Requires new or enhanced data systems to produce longitudinal, disaggregated data, but the bill does not outline methods or privacy safeguards, creating implementation risk (Bill s.18(1.1)).
- Because the amendments act through the National Housing Strategy, actual on-the-ground change depends on how the Minister designs and enforces the Strategy measures, which could lead to delays or uneven application (Bill s.5(2)(e)-(f)).