Housing Is Not A Right

Native leaders in Manitoba are blaming the federal government for a lack of affordable housing.

This is fairly typical here in Canada. I'ld like to make clear that it is not the governments responsibility to provide housing for people. In other words, housing is not a right that people are entitled to. And though the article specifically deals with native housing, it applies to all Canadians who believe they are entitled to a roof over their heads.

Rights are guarrantees that do not put a burden on your fellow citizens. Subsidized housing of course does put such a burden on other citizens simply due to the added tax required to fulfill this right.

This is a problem in the Western world in general where the definition of rights has morphed to include all those things required to live comfortably. Over the course of the last hundred years rights have expanded to include; the right to work, the right to housing, the right to affordable food, the right to... well you get the point. Unfortunately these rights impose a cost on society which our previous rights did not. Rights used to include; the freedom of moment, the freedom from unlawful imprisonment, the right to property, etc... Notice how none of these rights impose any cost or abligation on others.

In regards to native housing in particular I would ask... before Europeans arrived here did people demand that the village chief build their shelter for them? Most definitely not. Natives today have the knowhow and skill to build their own homes today. All they need is the motivation to do it themselves. Natives today who feel they are stigmatized in todays Canada will not benefit if the government provides housing for them.

My own opinion is that most problems native communities face today is due to the communities being to dependent on government. The government should be the last resort when dealing with problems within society. And why is that? Because the government, any government, does a poor job of anything it touches.

My best advise for natives can be found in this previous post:

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We will have to become individuals, making the kind of life we want for ourselves without apology or recrimination or conceit. And then one day, the stigma will look absurd for its distance from reality.