NDP Housing Critic, Jenny Kwan, issued the following statement:
“Having now reached the 100-day mark, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Government has still made no appointment for the position of Federal Housing Advocate despite promising it would be done by now. After announcing the new position in 2017, it has now been over a year since the government closed the job posting—and yet, there has been no progress in filling the position. The office of the Housing Advocate is staffed and ready to get moving on doing its job. But without the appointment of an advocate, the Liberals are precluding the office of the Housing Advocate from fulfilling its duties to protect and develop affordable housing for Canadians. This is not acceptable.
With housing prices skyrocketing under the Liberal government, more than ever, Canadians need affordable housing in this country. There must be transparency in the advancement of the right to housing. There must be someone holding the government to account on their promises to address the housing crisis people are facing across the country. The Liberals cannot be sweep yet another unfulfilled campaign promise under the rug. The Housing Advocate is a desperately needed watchdog for Canada to ensure that meaningful progress is made on federal housing programs.
It shouldn’t take over 13 months for the government to hire someone after the job posting closed. If the Liberals can't even do that, how can they be expected to address the housing crisis which is making it impossible for families to find a home they can afford in the communities where they live and work. It is high time the Liberals put their money where their mouth is and appoint an Advocate address this crisis.
People can’t wait any longer. They need homes they can afford now.”
