Whereas Canada remains one of the few wealthy nations of the world without a national poverty reduction strategy,

Whereas the National Homelessness Secretariat estimates that there are 150,000 homeless people in Canada, and that most experts believe the number is between 200,000 to 300,000,

Whereas 1.5 million Canadians are considered housing core need' which places them at greater risk of homelessness,

Whereas during his October 2007 visit, the UN Special Rapporteur on Housing, Miloon Kothari, recommended a large scale building of social housing units across the country.

Whereas Canada should make its domestic laws comply with international obligations it has committed to such as the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which has clear guidelines on the right to adequate housing.

Whereas over 1,300 SRO rooms have already converted to other uses in the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood in Vancouver in the lead up to the 2010 Olympic Games and there have been numerous building wide evictions around the City,

Whereas Dr. David Hulchanski from the University of Toronto called for an innovative 1 per cent solution using 1\% of the federal budget for social housing that would be matched by a contribution from provinces and territories,

We, the undersigned, support the re-establishment of a national housing program in Canada based on the 1\% solution immediately: