Charter of Rights and Homeless Persons.

• Author: McKay-Panos, Linda
• Position: Special Report: Poverty and Homelessness

Many Canadians are living in poverty, and people from certain groups are overrepresented in those who are suffering poverty's adverse effects, no matter how we measure or define "poverty". For example, a 2015 study by the Edmonton Social Planning Council revealed troublesome statistics:

* one in eight Edmontonians lives below the poverty line;

* Alberta has the largest percentage of working people living in poverty in Canada;

* one in five children under 18 in Edmonton live in poverty, and that number increases to one in two if the family has a single parent;

* Aboriginal persons are twice as likely as non-Aboriginal persons to be living in poverty; and

* Recent immigrants have comparatively lower incomes than other Canadians.

Likewise, a 2012 report authored by the United Way of Calgary and Area, Vibrant Communities Calgary and the City of Calgary indicated that one in ten Calgarians and nearly 400,000 Albertans live in poverty. The report indicates several key factors that contribute to poverty and its effects:

* mental health (60% of homeless persons live with mental illness);

* gender (69% of part time workers in Canada in 2003 were women; female seniors are at particular risk, as are lone-parent families);

* racialized minorities (40% of those living in poverty in 2006);

* sexual orientation (between 20% and 40% of homeless youth in Canada are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender);

* children in low-income families; and

* recent immigrants, Aboriginal persons, and persons with disabilities were groups that had significantly lower median incomes than Calgary's median income in 2005.

There have been several philosophical, political and legal debates about whether the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ("Charter") guarantees that Canadians have a right to adequate housing. To date, although there have been some interesting cases that make Charter arguments about the right to adequate housing or attempting to address the issue in court, these have not been very successful. However, the Charter- in particular Charter ss 7 and 15(1)--has been more successful in shielding homeless individuals who have been charged with bylaw offences or removed by officials from sleeping or living in parks or on other public property, than providing a right to adequate housing.

People living in poverty, including low-income and homeless people, are bound to be negatively affected by municipal bylaws that address public behaviour, such as those governing uses of public parks and transit, and uses of streets. Individuals across Canada have collected very large fines for violating these types of bylaws, yet often their behaviours are based on survival (e.g., riding transit without a ticket because they used the money for rent). Because they are poor and/or homeless, persons with low incomes are unable to pay the fines, which have added up to thousands of dollars.

Victoria v Adams, 2009 BCCA 563 ("Adams, BCCA") is one of the most notable successes in homeless litigation. This...