Housing for Urban Aboriginal Canadians

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Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org

Urban Aboriginal housing will be on the list of resolutions proposed when the Green Party holds its convention in Sidney, BC in August 2012. The following resolution Aboriginal Urban Housing is Sponsored by Young Greens Canada, as submitted by Carly Haynes.

Summary:

If adopted, this motion will create a new policy of creating and consulting with regional Aboriginal working groups to help address homelessness among urban Aboriginal peoples.

Motion Preamble:

WHEREAS Aboriginal citizens are disproportionately represented among the poorest in urban settings;

WHEREAS the Green Party of Canada supports accessible housing for all Canadians regardless of historical or social barriers; and

WHEREAS the Green Party of Canada recognizes that Aboriginal citizens in city settings may face an array of social obstacles including cultural and social obstacles;
Motion Operative:

BE IT RESOLVED that the Green Party of Canada seeks to introduce regional Aboriginal working groups to identify priorities for urban Aboriginal people and designated funding for this purpose within all-federal funding to communities to address housing and homelessness.

Sponsor(s):
Young Greens Canada / Jenues verts

Background:

Today, an increasing number of Aboriginals live in Canada's major urban areas. Recent census data shows that Aboriginal people living in urban areas are more than twice as likely to live in poverty as non-Aboriginal people. According to the United Nations, First Nations children in western countries live in Third World conditions, with an estimated 80% of urban Aboriginal children under the age of 6 living in poverty.

Changes associated with lack of community and traditional supports ensure that urban Aboriginals are at an increased risk to descend into poverty. Institutional structures in the form of transition programs and supported housing would serve to alleviate the pressures placed on urban Aboriginal peoples to find adequate housing.

Housing initiatives should be undertaken in conjunction with support and input from local groups and Aboriginal communities. Discussion between the federal government and the aforementioned groups will ensure that housing structures are formatted to fit the unique needs of specific communities while decreasing pressures associated with searching for housing in an unfamiliar setting.