Q & A

 Is homelessness a problem in Canada?

Reliable estimates place Canada's homeless population at somewhere between 150,000 and 300,000. An additional 1.5 million Canadian households are in "core housing need". This means that they are spending more than one third of their income on rent, putting them at significant risk of losing their housing.

Why did you start this campaign?

In December 2006, The French anti-poverty organization Children of Don Quixote, began using Red tents as a symbol to draw attention to the plight of the homeless in Paris. Since Vancouver was awarded the Winter Olympics we have seen the number of homeless people double in our city and wanted to find a way to draw attention to Canada’s growing homelessness crisis in order to build public support for a funded national housing strategy that will end homelessness and ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for all people living in Canada.

Isn’t it illegal for homeless people to put up tents on city sidewalks?

Many city’s have by-laws that prevent homeless people from setting up temporary shelters on sidewalks and on other public property like parks.  However, a Court of Appeal decision in Victoria December 2009, found that homeless people have a charter right to erect  a temporary shelter from the elements when no shelter beds are available. This case, Victoria(City) v. Adams, will require changes to how other cities regulate public space.

How are homeless people involved in this Campaign?

Homeless people, as all people involved, have a self-determined role in the campaign.  Homeless people involved with the project are aware of the risks and goals associated with the campaign and participate knowingly. Our Basis of Unity states: “the empowerment and genuine participation of people who are homeless, working to ensure their safety and working from a foundation of respect for their experiences, perspectives and needs.”

What if people take tents and participate in civil disobedience?

Red Tent is an open-sourced campaign with a statement of unity that connects many different individuals and organizations working around housing issues. The statement of unity includes a commitment to peaceful protest and resistance and tactics that do not lead to harm to people or destruction of property. See the full Basis of Unity here.

Where do the tents come from?

The Red Tents were sourced by fairware from a factory in Ning Bo, China. 

If you have questions you would like to pose about homelessness in Vancouver and the Red Tent campaign, please send them to housingnow@redtents.org. We will post the answers to the most common questions here.