I attended a meeting this morning that dealt with whether issues such as access
to food and housing are human rights. The speakers, Leilani Farha of the
Centre for Equality Rights in Accomodation and Bruce Porter of the Social
Rights Advocacy Centre, argued very strongly that food and housing were indeed
human rights and should be recognized as such. They were followed by a
strongly argued presentation by Senator Hugh Segal (Canadian, not American,
Senate) on the need for a Guaranteed Annual Income, which, he argued, could
easily be provided via the income tax system. If we had a GAI, Segal argued,
we wouldn't have to worry about public housing, food banks, etc.
All very well, but if it made that much sense and could readily be implemented,
why hasn't it been done? There wasn't time to ask him that, however, because
he had to dash back to Parliament Hill. Segal is a Conservative, though
appointed by Paul Martin, a Liberal Prime Minister, not Stephen Harper, the
current Conservative P.M. He does, however, carry a lot of political weight,
so why isn't he pushing very hard instead of just making speeches? Maybe he
is, but we can't know it because of the fog surrounding our government.
Ed
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