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Poverty
Vancouver B.C. – B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner expressed disappointment today at the Supreme Court of British Columbia’s decision in Fox, Scheu and Smith v. City of Victoria and Attorney General of British Columbia, which impacts how cities and municipalities consider the rights of unhoused people. The Court upheld the City’s authority to make bylaws that restrict sheltering in parks. As an intervenor in the case, the Commissioner notes that the decision presents another obstacle to unhoused people seeking to challenge municipal bylaws that undermine their rights and dignity.
“The requirement to protect the human rights of those who are some of the most vulnerable in society cannot be overridden by a government’s interest in maintaining aesthetically pleasing public parks and streets,” says Commissioner Kasari Govender. “The right to adequate housing and non-discrimination are human rights protected under the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, which was ratified across Canada 50 years ago and applies to all levels of government.”
The Fox, Scheu and Smith v. City of Victoria and Attorney General of British Columbia case began with two bylaws made by the City of Victoria that resulted in the closure and restriction of multiple parks to overnight sheltering. The Petitioners were among the displaced people impacted by the City’s decisions and included one person with mobility limitations and two Indigenous women who became homeless after leaving abusive relationships. One of the Petitioners who had been unhoused since age 14 sadly passed away while sheltering alone. The Commissioner intervened primarily to make submissions about the legal obligations of local governments to respect constitutional values of non-discrimination when making decisions that affect unhoused people.
“People with disabilities and Indigenous peoples are significantly more likely to be unhoused. Failures to account for the disproportionate impact of street-based homelessness—and the policies that restrict the ability of people to find adequate shelter—can violate constitutional and international legal protections for substantive equality,” says Commissioner Govender.
Although the Court dismissed the case, they left it open to the petitioners to bring this case as a Constitutional challenge to the bylaws.
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About BCOHRC
BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner exists to address the root causes of inequality, discrimination and injustice in B.C. by shifting laws, policies, practices and cultures. We do this work through education, research, advocacy, inquiry and monitoring. Learn more at: bchumanrights.ca
About the Commissioner
Kasari Govender began her work as B.C.’s first independent human rights commissioner in September 2019. As an independent officer of the Legislature, Commissioner Govender is uniquely positioned to ensure human rights in B.C. are protected, respected and advanced on a systemic level. Her work through BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner has included public inquiries into experiences of hate in the pandemic and detentions under the Adult Guardianship Act, a report on systemic discrimination in policing, community embedded research about a range of human rights issues experienced by people living in British Columbia, public awareness campaigns about ableism and racism and guidance to government that, among other things, informed the creation of both the Anti-Racism Data Act and the Anti-Racism Act. Commissioner Govender was reappointed for a second term beginning in September 2024.
About interventions
The Commissioner can apply to intervene in court and can intervene as a matter of right in B.C. Human Rights Tribunal cases with the potential to make a significant impact on human rights across the province. Interventions can impact how the law evolves, making them an important tool in systemic work to promote and protect human rights.
If the Commissioner’s request to intervene is approved by a court, BCOHRC provides submissions (also called legal arguments) to the judge in the case in question. These submissions are usually about how to interpret a narrow point of the law. Intervenors do not represent either side in a case; their submissions must be different from the arguments being made by the parties to the case, and submissions must not advocate for either side to win or lose.
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