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In the news

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Stop RBC Takeover Campaign: Advocating for Sustainability and Indigenous Rights

Stop RBC Takeover Campaign: Advocating for Sustainability and Indigenous Rights

By Kirsten McRae In November of 2023, The Shift joined an existing coalition of more than a dozen non-profits and human rights organizations that constituted the Stop RBC Takeover Campaign, aiming to halt the acquisition of HSBC Canada by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). Although a smaller coalition of organizations had been fighting RBC’s...
An Ontario ruling defending those living in encampments is only a partial victory

An Ontario ruling defending those living in encampments is only a partial victory

Source: The Globe & Mail Leilani Farha is global director of The Shift, the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to housing from 2014 to 2020 and the co-host of the bimonthly podcast, Pushback Talks. Diana Chan McNally is a front-line worker supporting homeless people. Last week, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice decided that the Regional Municipality...
As Skyrocketing Rents Leave Refugees with Nowhere to Go, The Human Right to Housing is Needed More than Ever

As Skyrocketing Rents Leave Refugees with Nowhere to Go, The Human Right to Housing is Needed More than Ever

Source: NewCities Kirsten McRae, Communications & Marketing Manager, The Shift It’s in the news every day—people are forced to flee their homes in growing numbers due to circumstances beyond their control. According to the World Economic Forum, the number of people fleeing their homes has doubled in the last ten years and it’s predicted that more than...
The Global Housing Crisis: A Crisis Unlike Any Other

The Global Housing Crisis: A Crisis Unlike Any Other

Source: Urbanet By Kirsten McRae Echoes of the same story can be heard in cities across the globe – homelessness is on the rise and the cost of housing is increasing at an alarming rate while the availability of decent housing dwindles. Kirsten McRae with recent statistics on the global housing crisis and why we...
Gentrification isn’t behind Mexico’s housing crisis. Financialization is.

Gentrification isn’t behind Mexico’s housing crisis. Financialization is.

Source: Washington Post The global value of housing has surged 53% in four years, but the profits are literally at the expense of tenants.   By Leilani Farha and Fredrik Gertten Fredrik Gertten is a documentary filmmaker and Director of ‘Push’; Leilani Farha is the Global Director of The Shift and former UN Special Rapporteur...
How to Avert the Next Housing Crisis

How to Avert the Next Housing Crisis

Strategies must be adopted that protect affordable homes and insulate housing against speculative investors
Op-Ed: When governments sell out to developers, housing is no longer a human right

Op-Ed: When governments sell out to developers, housing is no longer a human right

Strategies must be adopted that protect affordable homes and insulate housing against speculative investors
Why is there a global housing crisis?

Why is there a global housing crisis?

A new documentary launching in the UK today (28 February), entitled Push, follows UN special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing Leilani Farha around the world as she attempts to make sense of the global housing crisis.
‘Push’: How Big Finance Is Driving Up Housing Costs

‘Push’: How Big Finance Is Driving Up Housing Costs

Around the globe, documentary finds, people are paying a high price as housing becomes the latest big investment commodity.
REEL STORIES PREVIEW SERIES: PUSH

REEL STORIES PREVIEW SERIES: PUSH

WE WATCHED IT, AND YOU SHOULD TOO. The 16th annual Reel Stories film festival is just around the corner and will feature four days of hand-picked, thought-provoking documentary films from all over the world.
NZ housing shortage a ‘human rights crisis’

NZ housing shortage a 'human rights crisis'

A visiting United Nations representative has called New Zealand's housing crisis a "significant human rights crisis" and it's time the right to housing was wrenched from the hands of the private market.
Housing crisis ‘a violation of the promises’ by successive governments – Human Rights Commissioner

Housing crisis 'a violation of the promises' by successive governments - Human Rights Commissioner

New Zealand's housing crisis is "a violation of the promises" made by governments over the years according to the Human Rights Commissioner.
‘They allowed the perfect storm’: UN expert damns New Zealand’s housing crisis

'They allowed the perfect storm': UN expert damns New Zealand's housing crisis

Special rapporteur says successive governments have contributed to what she called a ‘human rights crisis’.
Instead of Helping Homeless People, Cities Are Bussing Them Out of Town

Instead of Helping Homeless People, Cities Are Bussing Them Out of Town

"If you look at the logical extension of what’s going on, whether it’s a move-along law or one-way bus ticket, it’s 'let’s erase people, let’s render them invisible.'"
With Oscar glory, ‘Parasite’ shines light on Seoul’s housing crisis

With Oscar glory, 'Parasite' shines light on Seoul's housing crisis

South Korean film “Parasite”, which became the first non-English language movie to win the Best Picture award at the Oscars, highlights the widening divide and lack of affordable housing in the capital Seoul, according to social analysts and academics.

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