Although Indigenous Peoples across Canada experience housing need at a disproportionate rate, what this means specifically varies from community to community. Recently, the Federal Housing Advocate, Marie-Josée Houle, and the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan (MNS) collaborated on a report into housing need in Métis communities in Saskatchewan and the services that are trying to fill the gaps. Based on a visit by the Advocate to Métis communities across the province, the report provides recommendations to all levels of government about how to address the urgent human rights issues identified.
Read the full report by the Advocate and the MNS.
A Firsthand View
“I spent time in various communities and met with organizations working to address pressing housing needs in the homeland of the Saskatchewan Métis,” the Advocate writes. “I wanted a firsthand view of the Métis experience with housing conditions, housing precarity and homelessness in Métis communities across the province.”
Over nine days in July 2023, the Advocate visited the major Métis centres of Saskatoon and North Battleford as well as six communities across Northern Saskatchewan. She spoke with residents, service providers, and Métis government officials, making note of key observations before working with the MN—S to distill those observations into actionable recommendations.
The Advocate writes, “During my trip, I observed a massive shortage of adequate and culturally appropriate housing supply for the Saskatchewan Métis. As the greater conversation across Canada focuses on the issue of supply, it is always important to highlight that supply alone will not solve the housing crises that ravage the country. It needs to be the right kind of supply.” Throughout the report, she emphasizes that “Métis-informed” solutions are required, meaning it is not enough to import housing and service models from other communities—they must be developed by and in consultation with Métis communities themselves.
Supporting Métis Self-Government
The MN—S will be central to the process of developing Métis-informed solutions. By virtue of the Self-Government Recognition and Implementation Agreement signed with the Government of Canada in 2023, the MN—S is the representative government of Métis communities in Saskatchewan, as per their inherent right to self-government recognized in Section 35 of the Constitution Act. A Métis-informed response to housing need in Saskatchewan will therefore come alongside measures to increase the autonomy of the MN—S, such as the signing of a core governance treaty with the federal government. This will allow the MN—S to build on the many housing programs they already offer for their members.
Statistics on Métis Housing Need
According to the 2021 census, there are 624,220 Métis people in Canada, of whom about 10% live in Saskatchewan. Statistically speaking, 10% of Métis housing in Saskatchewan is considered overcrowded and 10% is considered in need of repair. This means that, among all Métis communities in Canada, those in Saskatchewan have the highest rate of unsuitable housing.
In 2023, the MN—S commissioned a housing needs assessment report that considered affordability, suitability, and adequacy, which are three key elements of the right to housing. It found that for about 60% of those surveyed, one of their housing needs was going unmet. Notably, only 50% lived in housing that was considered affordable, compared to 84% of the Canadian population overall.
These figures speak to the level of housing need faced by Métis communities in Saskatchewan, but statistics don’t tell the full story. This is why the MN—S decided to host the Advocate in towns and cities across the province to see the issue firsthand.
The Advocate’s Observations
Saskatoon
After meeting with representatives from the Central Urban Métis Federation Incorporated, Camponi, and the Elizabeth Fry Society, as well as with other members of the Métis community, the Advocate notes that “Métis-led housing providers are leading the way by creating and investing in new emergency and transitional housing models.” However, she observed that this work is hampered by provincial policies, such as recent changes to how social assistance payments are made.
The report cites 2022 point-in-time count data that shows that 90% of those experiencing homelessness in Saskatoon identify as Indigenous, while 86% struggle with addiction. This increase in individuals who are harder to house “has undermined efforts to ensure that everyone who needs access to emergency shelter receives it” and contributes to shelter models that are neither secure nor habitable. The Advocate points to new housing models that provide wraparound support services over the long term get better results, but current short-term funding models set providers and tenants up for failure.
Overall, she describes a housing and homelessness system in Saskatoon that is overwhelmed and lacking the resources to address the issues that exist. This places vulnerable people at greater risk and violates their human right to housing.
North Battleford
In North Battleford, the municipality has actively collaborated with First Nations and the Métis government to address issues of homelessness and housing precarity. The Advocate met with staff from the Miwasin Kikinaw shelter, the Battleford Indian and Métis Friendship Centre, and the municipal government to learn more.
One key issue in North Battleford is rising rents, which reached an average of $894 in 2023. This takes up almost all of the $980 a single individual receives from Saskatchewan’s income support program. As a consequence, landlords are charging high rent for substandard housing, which leaves those who are most difficult to house out in the cold.
One local response to this problem is Haven-4-Eight, operated by the Friendship Centre. It offers group housing with 24-hour onsite support to eight individuals in serious housing need and has been so successful that the Friendship Centre is hoping to open a second house.
Northern Saskatchewan
To better understand the distinct issues in the province’s north, the Advocate visited Pinehouse, Île-à-la-Crosse, La Loche, Timber Bay, Nipawin, and Prince Albert. The northern regions of Saskatchewan are dealing with a serious crisis of substance use without the same level of resources available in larger centres. However, innovative approaches to substance use disorders involving supportive housing are also being developed, despite significant gaps in infrastructure.
The Advocate noted that “much of the existing housing requires significant repair and is barely habitable; in some cases, the houses are not habitable at all, but remain occupied.” However, renovations are difficult due to a lack of skilled workers and the short season, which also makes it very difficult to carry out energy efficiency upgrades in the face of “shockingly high” energy prices.
Although there are inspiring land-based recovery programs in the area, their success is compromised by gaps in the housing sector, notably transitional and supportive housing. The services are underfunded, and the workers are underpaid and overburdened.
How Did We Get to this Point?
The causes of the current housing situation in Métis communities in Saskatchewan are complex, but the history of displacement and dispossession these communities have faced is a major contributing factor. To mention just a few important examples, the transfer of Rupert’s Land to the Dominion of Canada in 1869 led to a massive influx of settlers to Métis communities; the Scrip Commission (1885–1924) systematically extinguished Métis title to the land set aside for them after Confederation; and titleless Métis communities that formed along road allowances were forcibly relocated to farms starting in the late 1930s.
Despite this violence, the Métis never stopped advocating for a land base and recognition of their title. “The arc of Métis history has been defined by tireless efforts to secure lands for stable homes and families to grow and establish communities so that the distinct Métis ways of life could continue,” the report by the Advocate and the MN—S reads.
Recommendations to Government
The report ends with a series of recommendations co-developed by the MN—S and the Advocate aimed at each level of government. These recommendations cover a range of subjects, but two key themes are respect for the human right to housing and recognition of the MN—S as a government.
The human right to housing was inscribed in domestic law at the federal level in 2019 in the National Housing Strategy Act and commits all orders of government to its progressive realization. The report states that municipalities can work towards this by providing additional support for emergency and transitional housing, while the Government of Saskatchewan could implement legislation recognizing the right to housing and appoint a provincial housing advocate who could amplify Métis voices.
In accordance with the self-government agreement (and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act), recognizing the MN—S as a government is part of the solution to Métis housing need. Municipalities are called upon to work with the MN—S on housing issues, and the province is urged to deepen its government-to-government relationship with the MN—S to support them in continuing to provide local services. This could include creating a joint housing working group. The federal government, for its part, is called upon to transfer jurisdiction over Métis housing programs to the MN—S and to ensure adequate funding for these programs. The same could be said for jurisdiction over mental health and substance use disorder programs. The MN—S should be involved in discussions about the opioid and homelessness crisis alongside provincial governments so that they can contribute to a Métis-informed response.
Additional recommendations to the federal government include economic reconciliation (removing barriers to Métis prosperity) and addressing historic grievances (such as displacements and the Scrip Commission). As well, all orders of government are called upon to prioritize the needs of Métis women, girls, and gender-diverse people in housing initiatives.
More Than Just Four Walls
The Advocate’s trip to Saskatchewan makes clear that adequate housing is not just a question of providing four walls and a roof. Housing that is overcrowded, unsuitable, or unaffordable undermines the well-being of whole communities, and the absence of needed services can make remaining housed impossible for those most in need. In considering the Métis of Saskatchewan, it is clear that high levels of housing need are part of a process of dispossession and displacement that has been ongoing for hundreds of years. The situation is not hopeless, though, as many innovative solutions are emerging from Métis communities across the province. They just need adequate support to scale up and meet the needs of their members.
Read the full report by the Advocate and the MNS.