The following are valuable resources, organisations, and initiatives that contribute towards equitable housing advancement in Canada.
About Here
About Here, hosted and founded by Uytae Lee, is a creative studio and YouTube channel dedicated to helping people better understand cities and urban planning topics. They have created some valuable resources addressing critical housing questions in Canada, easily accessible for anyone.
Their video Could this be a Solution to Gentrification? discusses the use of Community Land Trusts across North America to protect culturally significant neighbourhoods and oppose gentrification-induced housing insecurity.
Architects Against Housing Alienation (AAHA)
Architects Against Housing Alienation (AAHA) is a collective that started the Not for Sale! campaign to end housing alienation. The campaign’s team includes architects, activists, and advocates who believe the current housing system in c\a\n\a\d\a must be abolished.
BC Human Rights Code, Chapter 210
https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/00_96210_01#section10
The BC Human Rights Code outlines definitions on discrimination in purchase of property and discrimination in tenancy premises.
BC Human Rights Tribunal
The BC Human Rights Tribunal is responsible for accepting, screening, mediating, and adjudicating human rights complaints. Their human rights in tenancy definition asserts that:
“Everyone has the right to be free from discrimination when renting an apartment, house, co-op unit, or other space.”
The Tribunal offers those party to a complaint the opportunity to resolve the complaint through mediation.
BC Non-Profit Housing Association
The BC Non-Profit Housing Association supports housing providers and establishes networks across British Columbia, working towards a future where every individual and family has a place to call home. They work towards this future through research and advocacy, networking, professional development, and more.
Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation
The Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation has contributed valuable sources to the study of housing discrimination across the country. They also provide housing information for those wishing to acquire housing in Canada.
Canadian Centre for Housing Rights
https://housingrightscanada.com
The Canadian Centre for Housing Rights seeks to provide adequate, accessible, and affordable housing for all. Their website offers housing resources geared towards a variety of stakeholders, from the General Public to Housing Providers.
Canadian Human Rights Commission
https://www.housingchrc.ca/en/about-us/about-us
The Canadian Human Rights Commission houses the Federal Housing Advocate, an independent, nonpartisan watchdog empowered to drive meaningful action to address housing need and homelessness in Canada. The office helps to promote and protect the right to housing in Canada.
Canadian Rental Housing Index
https://www.rentalhousingindex.ca/en/#intro
This resource, developed by the BC Non-Profit Housing Association, is a comprehensive database of rental housing statistics from more than 800 municipalities and regions across Canada.
Core Housing Need (Canada Census 2021)
https://censusmapper.ca/maps/3494#10/49.2763/-122.8519
This map by CensusMapper shows the proportion of households in Core Housing Need in each region across Canada. Of the larger metropolitan areas, Vancouver has the highest proportion of houses in housing need at 16.9% .
Housing Market Information Portal
https://www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/hmip-pimh/en#Profile/1/1/Canada
A resource developed by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, this portal offers free access to the latest data on the Canadian housing market. Statistics include vacancy rates, housing stock, core housing need, and more.
Housing New Canadians
http://www.hnc.utoronto.ca/index.html
Housing New Canadians is a research partnership between the University of Toronto and York University focused on housing access and discrimination in Toronto and surrounding areas.
Housing Research Collaborative at the University of British Columbia
https://housingresearchcollaborative.allard.ubc.ca
The Housing Research Collaborative (HRC) at the University of British Columbia is a community of housing researchers, providers and policymakers focused on understanding systemic barriers in the housing system and addressing housing affordability problems.
Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America
https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining
Redlining maps from the United States have been digitized in this invaluable tool. The interactive web map outlines the practices and origins of redlining, and overlays the HOLC’s maps on maps from today, including an introduction, neighbourhood composition, area descriptions, and spatial categorization for many American cities.
Small Housing BC
Small Housing is a non-profit organisation supporting the gentle densification of single-family neighbourhoods to provide equitable homes for all.
Tapestry Community Capital
Tapestry Community Capital is committed to making community bonds accessible across all sectors, including affordable housing. Their goal is to make it easy for non-profits to fund their projects, to build connections with their community in the process.
Could be a valuable resource to a community land trust, a method for community members to take back their neighbourhoods in the face of gentrification.