Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) is committed to advocating for rights-based policy responses to the housing crisis in Canada. With the establishment of the National Housing Council’s Review Panel on the right to housing for women, Two Spirit, and gender-diverse people, CPJ invites members and partners to participate by contributing to a CPJ submission, or by making their own submission.
CPJ will be preparing a submission to send a message to policy-makers that churches and faith communities across Canada are an engaged constituency that cares deeply about the right to housing. We are inviting members and partners to share stories and experiences of how they are seeing these issues lived out in their own lives or in their communities, congregations, or other spaces. We also encourage individuals and groups to consider making their own submissions, and are happy to point you to resources and toolkits.
This is a unique opportunity for individuals and organizations to participate in claiming the right to housing and to hold the federal government accountable for its human rights obligations. By sharing testimony of the lived realities of housing insecurity and homelessness experienced by women, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people, you can help document the impact of current policies and amplify alternative solutions.
Click the button below to register your interest in collaborating and to receive more information!
How to Participate
- Sign up as a potential contributor. If you think you might like to contribute, please fill out the sign-up form so we can contact you with more information and connect you with other collaborators. You do not have to commit to writing or submitting anything, this just lets us know you are interested.
- Attend our information session via Zoom. We will share some background on the review panel and go over the proposed structure for our submission. We’ll also discuss how you can share your testimony, what supports we can provide along the way, and what to expect after the submission has been made. Zoom meeting details will be shared via email once you have completed the sign-up form.
- Share your testimony. You can provide your testimony in writing or by scheduling a phone call or Zoom meeting on two possible dates (TBD). Once you have signed up as a potential collaborator, and after we have shared some information in our Zoom meeting, we will follow up with more information and a link to a form you can use to share written testimony, or you can schedule a phone call or Zoom meeting with a CPJ contact.
Your testimony can describe your own lived experience, if you choose to share it, or you can share the experiences you are witnessing in your community related to the right to housing for women, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people. It can include evidence of the impact of current policies and/or alternative policy solutions, and can describe ways you or your community are engaged in this issue.
You may also choose to make your own submission as an individual or organization. We can point you to helpful resources and toolkits to support you.
Sharing your lived experience can be very heavy and potentially triggering. We will share resources and support services that you can access as needed. You do not have to share your own story to contribute to a submission. Anything you choose to share can be withdrawn until the report is submitted to the review panel. - Review and endorse CPJ’s submission. Collaborators will have an opportunity to review how their testimony is presented in CPJ’s submission, as well as providing overall feedback. Collaborators and other organizational supporters can choose to endorse CPJ’s submission.
- Follow the review panel proceedings and the Minister’s response. The review panel will include written and oral testimony, after which they will write a report with recommendations for the federal Minister responsible for the National Housing Strategy. The Minister will then be required to table a response in parliament. We will continue to monitor and respond to these reports, so stay tuned even after the submission has been made!