The Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission says the planned removal of two bus shelters outside the Gathering Place in St. John’s is a human rights issue.
Metrobus had posted signage on both shelters last week advising that they would be removed.
However, the city and Metrobus have since agreed that now is not the time to do so following pushback from The Gathering Place, among others.
The shelters are used by the many vulnerable people who avail of the services at The Gathering Place, along with regular Metrobus riders who value them in poor weather.
Carey Majid, executive director of the Human Rights Commission, says it’s important that decision-makers apply a human rights lens to social justice issues.
NL Human Rights Commission executive director Carey Majid
“Shelters for people at risk are extremely important,” says Majid, adding that structural and underlying systemic issues also need to be addressed.
She says there is a human rights approach that can be taken to housing, or the lack thereof.
Meanwhile, the minister responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing, John Abbott, welcomes a meeting with St. John’s Mayor Danny Breen to discuss the larger issue of homelessness in the city
Abbott says the province is already part of the city’s affordable housing working group, adding there is a lot of work being done, such as working with the city on a housing needs assessment.
He notes the city recently received a $500,000 federal grant to address such issues.
