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Conversation
Street Roots • July 20-26, 2018
Under (Stephen) Harper’s previous
government, the federal government had
moved away from th a t
We know that new affordable housing
units need to be built, but we need to leave
enough money to invest in improving
existing housing stock. Again, we will ensure
that (the funding) is fairly distributed and
proportional across the country. We’ve made
significant investments since we’ve been in
power. With the housing strategy, of course
it’s going to take some time to build all
those buildings and apartments, but we’re
working on it now.
Isabelle Raymond: Some of our vendors
who have experienced homelessness have
transitioned from soft drugs to hard drugs.
Cannabis can have devastating effects on
people who suffer from psychosis. I've already
had psychosis myself. After legalizing
cannabis, what will you do to make young
people and vulnerable people aware of the
risks?
J.T.: First of all, the awareness-raising
work won’t be done after legalization, but
here and now. We’re working on an
awareness campaign and investing to bring
about a better understanding of the impact
of cannabis and the harmful effects it can
have on individuals and society.
We’ve observed that the current approach
isn’t working. It’s too easy for a young
person to have access to cannabis as it
stands now, and all the profits are going to
organized crime. We want to be able to
regulate and control cannabis so that the
profits from cannabis sales, are invested in
Justin Trudeau
The Canadian prime minister talks with street papers about
ending homelessness, legalizing cannabis, immigration reform
and other issues (that don't involve colluding with Russia)
BY MOSTAPHA LOTFI,
JEAN-CLAUDE NAULT,
ISABELLE RAYMOND
AND LAURENT SOUMIS
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R S
Editor's note: Three reporter-vendors from
Street Roots' sister newspaper L'Itinéraire in
Montreal were given the opportunity to
interview Canadian Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau. Their questions and conversation
spanned issues both local and global, many of
which will resonate with street paper vendors
and people experiencing homelessness across
the world.
s the head of Canada’s Liberal
government, Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau has a lot riding on his party’s
revamped plan to end homelessness. Its
boasts a lofty promise incomparable to the
U.S. - to cut homelessness by 50 percent in
10 years, with more than $2 billion in
spending and loosening restrictions on local
initiatives.
The prime minister acknowledged that
the realities faced by people who are
■
homeless or in insecure housing vary
throughout the country. “The needs and the
solutions are different from one region to
another, from one city to another, and even
sometimes from one neighbourhood to
another,” Trudeau said.
Because of this diversity, the prime
minister said he wanted to keep “listening
to” and “working with” local organizations
addressing homelessness. “The experts are
the ones who are on the ground, who are
doing the work and who know their
environment,” he said.
Trudeau prefers not to endorse the idea
of a uniform national homelessness
program. “Solutions generated in Ottawa
and applied in the rest of the country,
without fully consulting and involving
community organizations, are not real
solutions at all.”
The prime minister had high praise for
the work of organizations that support
people in need through the social economy.
Housing assistance will be one of the
centerpieces of the federal homelessness
strategy, according to the prime minister. As
Ministry of Parliament for the Montreal
district of Papineau, Trudeau says he is
aware of the “endless wait” for social
housing. “We’re working on speeding up
that process,” he said.
Three vendors with Street Roots’ sister
paper L’Itinéraire recently spoke with
Trudeau about his agenda around
homelessness and an array of issues.
Jean-Claude Nault: Your national
housing strategy includes several elements -
maintaining existing housing units, shelter
allowance payments and construction of
affordable housing units. In Montreal alone,
24,000 households are on the waiting list for
affordable housing. My question is simple -
how many affordable housing units will be
built or under construction in Montreal before
the October 2019 federal election?
Ju stin Trudeau: Let me tell you that as
MP for Papineau, I’ve had many
conversations with people who are stuck on
endless waiting lists for affordable housing.
We know how much pressure there is.
That’s why our investments are going
toward a real national housing strategy.
our health system and in advertising
campaigns that discourage people from
using it.
There’s one other element that will
radically change. We see that, for a number
of people, cannabis is a gateway that can
lead to other substances. Why? Because
when you buy cannabis from someone who
has, in their other pocket, harder drugs that
they’re potentially going to try to sell you,
that can lead to other drugs.
But if cannabis is sold in a controlled and
regulated environment, where nothing else
is being sold, the salespeople won’t sell you
crack or crystal meth or anything else, and
it won’t be a gateway toward worse things.
Mostapha Lotfi: Last year, you committed
to advancing the right to housing for all
Canadians. Internationally, Canada is a
signatory of the International Covenant on
Economic, Cultural and Social Rights, which
enshrines the right to adequate housing. Why
are you hesitant to make the right to housing
part of the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms?
J.T.: We’re advocating for a human rights-
based approach to housing, and that’s not
the same as recognizing a human right to
housing. I could say to you that yes, you
have a right to housing, but if your housing
is in northern Saskatchewan ... if we make
the right to housing too prescriptive, it can
lead to unintended consequences that aren’t
necessarily positive.
Our approach is different It’s an
approach that has been praised by the
United Nations. We’re putting human rights,
the right to dignity, to freedom of choice, to
See TRUDEAU, page 5