On January 17, 2025, MP Leah Gazan made the following statement:
I would like to extend my gratitude to the Province of Manitoba and the City of Winnipeg on their announcement of ‘Your Way Home: Manitoba’s Plan to End Chronic Homelessness’. The goal of this plan is focused on allocating vital resources to help people living in encampments transition to safer, more secure housing arrangements. The program aims to address the complex causes of homelessness, providing wraparound supports to alleviate many barriers to housing that are all too often overlooked.
I would also like to congratulate Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud on her appointment as the Premier’s Senior Advisor on Ending Chronic Homelessness. Tessa brings to the table her expertise and relationships from the housing sector and frontline organizations. I wish her well in her new role.
It is no secret that many of the individuals who have been deprived of their human right to housing live in Winnipeg Centre. Homeless encampments are a visible manifestation of governments’ failure to provide adequate housing, forcing residents to create their own shelter to survive. This is certainly what has occurred in our community.
It is beholden on all elected officials to ensure that every resident is provided with all possible alternatives, and that all individuals impacted are meaningfully engaged in this process. Housing is a cornerstone of human rights, and individuals have the fundamental right to shape policies that directly impact their lives. Meaningful engagement ensures that affected communities, particularly those experiencing housing need, are actively involved in shaping decisions and outcomes. This is affirmed in international human rights law which recognizes the right to meaningful engagement as critical to dignity, agency, autonomy, and self-determination.
I am proud that Canada has ratified several international human rights instruments that affirm the right to adequate housing, including chiefly The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, instruments that all levels of government are bound to uphold. The right to housing has also been enshrined in Canadian legislation through the National Housing Strategy Act, and provincial and municipal governments are also bound by these obligations.
I am confident that the Government of Manitoba and the City of Winnipeg will ensure these legal obligations are met, including upholding Article 7 of the Canadian Charter which protects a person’s “right to life, liberty, and security”. I am also looking forward to hearing feedback from front-line housing advocates who have invested the time to build relationships of trust and understanding with our unhoused neighbours. People with lived experience and their advocates are best positioned to understand the needs of our community. I am proud to live in Winnipeg Centre, known for our local organizations finding creative, kind, and sustainable solutions to complex problems.
I am also proud to represent and live in a community that is filled with neighbours and friends, award-winning and thriving businesses, a magnificent arts community, and neighbourhoods such as the Exchange District, that have been voted as one of the “coolest” places to live in Canada.
It is true that Winnipeg Centre has its struggles. However, we are also home to some of the most brilliant frontline organizations, thousands of volunteers, and community builders who strive to ensure that everyone has a place in our community.
It is a community that I love, and it is a community that knows how to put community at the centre of everything we do. The people of Winnipeg Centre really care for one another, and that’s what makes us so unique and special.
I look forward to learning more about the plan and I am hopeful that Winnipeg and our province will demonstrate that you can build safe and healthy communities while protecting the human rights of all individuals.