Cranbrook’s Human Rights Brief outlined struggles with food insecurity, homelessness, discrimination and substance use among other issues faced by the community.
Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender said many of these issues are felt across B.C.
“There are major themes that we heard across the province: a lack of housing, homelessness, rising poverty, hate and discrimination across communities,” said Govender.
“We’re also seeing the impacts of the toxic drug crisis and problems accessing health care services in general. We’re seeing all of these things repeatedly across the province.”
The Office of the Human Rights Commissioner created briefings for four communities across B.C.: Chilliwack, Chetwynd, Terrace and Cranbrook.
Govender said food security was a much more prominent issue in Cranbrook specifically.
“There’s very high levels of food insecurity and huge increases in demand for food bank uses, reflecting the needs in the community,” said Govender.
“It’s very disproportionate to the increases across Canada, where we saw an increase of about 15 per cent, while we saw a 58 per cent increase in that same time in Cranbrook.”
This comes from the rising cost of living, inflated grocery prices and increasing rent.
According to the brief, about six per cent of Cranbrook’s population were living in poverty in 2020, but that rate shot up to 24 per cent among single mothers.
Govender said even so-called ‘affordable’ housing options were out of reach for some.
“We heard that rent at a local motel is now $930 a month for a one-bedroom with no kitchen and $1,600 for a two-bedroom unit with a kitchenette,” said Govender.
“Some people are paying more than $600 a month for trailers with no heat or hydro.”
This lack of affordable accommodations has led to a spike in homelessness across B.C., with Cranbrook’s unhoused population estimated at 116 people in 2023.
Homelessness can then bring a host of other challenges.
“We heard that being unhoused creates many barriers to accessing other essential services,” explained Govender.
“For instance, access to water and basic sanitation for people experiencing homelessness is a major human rights issue.”
Unhoused people are among other marginalized groups who are subjected to discrimination.
“No community is immune from hatred and discrimination,” said Govender.
“In Cranbrook, we heard about it in relation to unhoused people, people with disabilities, Indigenous folks, and gender-based hatred and violence.”
While the briefing contains no specific policy suggestions, it can be used as a guiding document for decision-makers.
“These documents distill what we’ve heard so folks in communities can take them and use them as leverage for support,” said Govender.
“I hope this data informs leaders to make public policy decisions based on the experiences of those in their communities.”
You can find the full Cranbrook Human Rights Brief here.
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