Review Panels
The National Housing Strategy Act (NHSA) enshrined the human right to adequate housing in Canadian law for the first time and created the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate and the National Housing Council as accountability mechanisms to advance this right. The Advocate is empowered to request that the Council establish a review panel to conduct hearings into systemic issues related to housing in order to provide recommendations to the Minister responsible for housing. So far, there have been two review panels: one on the financialization of purpose-built rental housing in 2023 and another on the failure to prevent and eliminate homelessness amongst women and gender-diverse people in 2024.
The Right to Safe, Adequate, and Affordable Housing for Women, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender-Diverse People
Also known as Neha, this review panel was launched in November 2024 to examine the right to adequate housing for women, Two Spirit, trans, and gender-diverse people, and the government’s responsibility to uphold this right. The Advocate submitted recommendations to this panel based on submissions she received from community organizations and individuals and her research into the subject. This research included visits to communities across Canada and extensive engagement with rights-holders. She accompanied this by an analysis of government actions and inactions that have contributed to the problem of homelessness for women and gender-diverse people. The Advocate’s written representation to the review panel, submitted in February 2025, is available below.
The Financialization of Purpose-Built Rental Housing
In June 2023, the first review panel hearing under Canada’s NHSA was launched. The Advocate, Marie-Josée Houle, elected to focus the first such hearing on the urgent issue of the financialization of purpose-built, affordable rental housing in Canada. As part of the hearing, the Advocate submitted written representations based on research commissioned by her office to examine the growing role of financial firms in the residential real estate market, long-term care, and seniors’ housing. Her representations were also informed by the submissions she received from individuals and organizations, as well as by her visits to communities across Canada to engage with rights holders, civil society, industry stakeholders, and policymakers. The submissions that were shared with the Review Panel have been removed from the document below, and this version includes some minor changes to the text regarding review panel procedure.
In September 2023, the Advocate submitted her preliminary recommendations to the panel.