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The right to housing is enshrined in Canadian law, however, access to housing can be limited by administrative requirements. This is particularly true for people experiencing homelessness and/or insecure housing, as they may not have access to documentation, such as identification or notice of assessments (i.e. income tax verification). The current research examines program eligibility and documentation requirements for access to social housing across Canada. Sixty-seven communities that receive funding from Canada's federal government were examined via Internet-based searches. Eligibility requirements were grouped into five main categories: (1) Citizenship; (2) Finances; (3) Support needs; (4) Housing history; and (5) Legal history. Similarly, documentation requirements were grouped into four main categories: (1) Identification and Citizenship; (2) Finances; (3) Housing history; and (4) Personal circumstances. The results demonstrate the complexities in applying and being approved for social housing in Canada. The potentially onerous eligibility and documentation requirements may limit access to social housing for those who are most in need. Policy and program recommendations are discussed to improve access to social housing in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the Defund the Police and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movements, police accountability and legitimacy are commanding a significant amount of attention. Importantly, questions are being raised about how to effectively govern and manage policing especially with respect to police violence and misconduct. While much of this discussion has focused on the actions of the police, there has been little research examining the civilian bodies responsible for holding police accountable: Police Service Boards (PSBs). In recent years, a few high-profile public reports have identified that certain PSBs in Canada, are struggling to carry out their roles and responsibilities and offered numerous recommendations to address existing shortcomings. These detailed reports have important implications for oversight and governance. However, the scale and generalizability of the response to the concerns raised in these reports remains unknown. In this study, we explore issues of capacity and training for PSB members to better understand the gap between the expectations of PSBs to provide meaningful governance of the police and their perceived capacity to do so. Our research suggests that a significant gap in governance exists, related to the lack of adequate training and capacity building in PSBs across the country. Recommendations and future directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, homelessness has become more visible, and with it are increased demands for law enforcement to minimise the visibility of people experiencing homelessness, and manage, or ultimately remove, local encampments. While scholarship exists on police responses to homelessness, the role that other security actors, such as municipal bylaw officers, play in managing and regulating homelessness is largely unknown. In this paper, we explore municipal bylaw officers' perceptions of their roles and responsibilities related to homelessness in Ontario, Canada. Our analysis reveals how bylaw officers have become important players in the security governance of homelessness. We demonstrate how bylaw officers' policies, which focus on the regulation of space, are loosely coupled with, or disconnected from, their frontline activities, which require the regulation of people. This loose coupling situates bylaw officers in a perceived regulatory grey zone, requiring them to use discretionary solutions informed by their subjective experiences to govern people experiencing homelessness. The reliance on subjectivity and discretion expands security networks regulating and governing people experiencing homelessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]