We don’t need to give people a right to live in tent encampments. We need to give them a right to decent housing — which we can afford to provide.

In 2023, 8,656 people stayed at least one night in a homeless shelter in Ottawa, according to city data on shelter use. In 2018, 7,937 people were reported as experiencing homelessness, according to the city’s 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan — and that was 23 per cent higher than in 2014.

More statistics to digest from the homelessness plan: In 2018, 3,984 individuals accessed shelter for the first time — up 42 per cent from 2014. And according to the city’s estimates, there are currently 2,832 people “experiencing homelessness.” These are people in shelters, on the streets or in encampments.

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Which all goes to say that homelessness in the nation’s capital is getting worse. People end up in shelters, on the streets or in tent encampments because they have no place to call home. The problem is not shelters or encampments. And the answer is not a new right to live in........

© Ottawa Citizen