PRess Release: Nine BC City Councils affirm Housing as a Human Right

Vancouver, Burnaby, Victoria and six more councils join ranks, call on the Province to legislate housing as a human right

Published June 16, 2025
For Immediate Release

In the midst of a destabilizing provincial and national housing crisis, nine City Councils in BC have passed motions in favour of a human rights approach to housing in the province. 

Motions passed at City Hall in Burnaby, Langford, Langley City, Nanaimo, North Vancouver, Port Moody, Saanich, Vancouver, and Victoria call on the Government of British Columbia to formally legislate housing as a human right. The motions also escalate a flood of resolutions on the topic of housing rights recognition to the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention. 

Housing as a human right has been legislated in Canada at the federal level since 2019. The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs Council also passed a similar resolution in 2024, calling on the BC government to legislate housing as a human right, citing the province’s commitment to implementing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act across ministries. This coordinated move by municipal Councillors aims to convey the urgency and necessity of a rights-based approach to their provincial counterparts in the Housing Ministry. 

Recognizing the inconsistency between the federal and provincial recognition of housing as a human right, Saanich Councillor Teale Phelps Bondaroff instigated the wave of concurrent motions this spring. Councillor Phelps Bondaroff noted that rights recognition “fundamentally shifts” housing policy “away from profits and commodification towards policies that serve people and communities.”

The BC Poverty Reduction Coalition has worked alongside Councillors throughout the spring to support the success of these motions, including catalyzing hundreds of community partners and individuals to send letters to their City Councils. 

When asked about the connection between poverty reduction and human rights, Provincial Director of the Coalition, Rowan Burdge, noted that “we cannot see the end of poverty in BC without changing the way we legislate our basic necessities.” Burdge continued: “Adequate, appropriate housing must be treated as a right if we want to build a just and equitable society.”

The conversation to legislate housing as a human right in BC will expand to Council delegates from across BC during the Union of BC Municipalities convention, held in Victoria from September 22 to 26 this year. If adopted, the call to recognize housing as a human right will become part of UBCM’s advocacy to the province.

Quotes

“Alongside community members and advocates, I have long been urging the provincial government to recognize and work toward realizing the right to housing. I am pleased to see growing momentum behind this grassroots movement to garner support among municipalities, and I am hopeful that UBCM will take up the call to action. Addressing homelessness and housing unaffordability requires cooperation and action at all levels of government. Fulfilling the right to housing is not only a legal requirement under international law; it is also the only viable path forward to resolving the housing crisis in our province.” - Kasari Govender, British Columbia’s Human Rights Commissioner

"When governments recognize housing as a human right, it fundamentally shifts the way that we approach housing. It moves the focus away from profits and commodification towards policies that serve people and communities, especially those most impacted by the housing crisis. It results in policies that focus not just on the number of units built, but on whether those homes are accessible, appropriate, and truly affordable." - Teale Phelps Bondaroff, Saanich Councillor 

“Housing is not a luxury. It is the foundation for safety, health, dignity, and participation in society. Yet across Vancouver and the province, we continue to see escalating homelessness, unaffordable rents, and precarious living conditions that are driving people into poverty—or keeping them there. This motion works towards access to truly affordable, adequate, and appropriate housing for everyone—especially those historically marginalized: Indigenous people, racialized communities, people with disabilities, low-income workers, and youth aging out of care.” - Sean Orr, Vancouver City Councillor

“The data shows that housing strategies rooted in housing as a human right are cost effective and lead to better outcomes.  We can reduce overnight sheltering, police and emergency room costs and help those that need support to find or stay in their housing." - Mary Wagner, Langford City Councillor 

“The affordability, housing, homelessness, and climate crises are intertwined and require action from all levels of government. Declaring housing as a human right will support collaboration to accelerate the policies and actions required to ensure everyone has access to a climate-safe, affordable, and secure home.” - Jessica McIlroy, North Vancouver City Councillor 

“Safe, secure housing is essential for physical and mental wellbeing, safety and stability, employment, and community involvement, and it needs to be recognized as a human right. This is critical for our neighbours who are currently unhoused, our neighbours who are living in precarious and unsafe housing, and all of us. The world is uncertain, but what we should be certain about is making sure our housing policies meet the needs of our community. Housing as a human right gives us an opportunity to examine how we are doing things, and organize across all levels of government to develop a clear path forward.” - Amy Lubik, Port Moody City Councillor

“Municipalities have to deal with massive costs as a result of managing the downstream effects of homelessness and unaffordable housing. That makes it hard for employers to attract new people, or for people who grew up here to stay here. We all suffer as a result of the province not treating this issue with the urgency required. Until everyone has a safe, secure roof over their head, we need to keep collectively sending this message and doing what’s within our power to do.” - Hilary Eastmure, Nanaimo City Councillor 

“While the realistic execution of housing as a human right will be challenging, I fail to see how it could result in a housing system worse than the one we have today: privatized, financialized, commodified, and increasingly out of reach for a growing portion of our society. Let’s return to housing as a social good; let’s begin by recognizing housing as a human right.” -Susan Kim, Victoria City Councillor

For additional quotes, questions, and comments:
Rowan Burdge
Provincial Director, BC Poverty Reduction Coalition 
rowan@bcpovertyreduction.ca

Teale Phelps Bondaroff
Saanich Councillor 
teale.phelpsbondaroff@saanich.ca