For many years, CHRA and the CHRA Indigenous Caucus have called on the federal government to introduce a dedicated strategy focused on urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing. However, to date, there has been no release of a dedicated strategy that addresses the housing gaps faced by the 80% of Indigenous peoples living in urban, rural and northern settings. On October 27, CHRA and its Indigenous Caucus launched the “For Indigenous By Indigenous” (FIBI) campaign to call on the federal government to address the needs of Indigenous peoples living in urban, rural and northern settings.

As outlined in the original FIBI plan, the campaign includes five key asks to the federal government:

  1. Develop a “For Indigenous, By Indigenous” National Housing Centre.
  2. Increase the supply of stable, safe, and affordable housing for urban, rural and northern Indigenous peoples by building 73,000 new units.
  3. Support tenants’ well-being and long-term success with wraparound Indigenous services.
  4. Accelerate action on Indigenous homelessness.
  5. Focus on northern housing.

There is no better time than now to make a change! Show your support for the FIBI campaign by:

  1. Informing yourself. Visit the new website, www.forindigenousbyindigenous.ca, where you can access all the information regarding the FIBI campaign.
  2. Signing our petition that will be presented in the House of Commons.
  3. Sending a letter to your local Member of Parliament. With the easy-to-use MP Letter Generator, you can send an automated letter in minutes.
  4. Sending a supportive tweet to your local Member of Parliament indicating your support for the FIBI campaign
  5. Downloading and sharing our social media graphics to get the conversation started online. Don’t forget to follow and tag CHRA (@CHRAIndigenous) on Twitter and use the hashtag #ForIndigenousByIndigenous.

Stay tune for more resources and initiatives over the next few weeks. Show your support for urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing and take action today!