UN housing watchdog slams Liberals for watering down rights in housing strategy

OTTAWA - A United Nations housing watchdog is taking the Liberals to task over what she sees as the government's about-face on a promise to put a human rights lens on its housing strategy. In a scathing letter, Leilani Farha, the UN special rapporteur on the right to housing, says her backing for the strategy is waning, based on indications that the Liberals "may not recognize the right to housing" in legislation expected in the fall that would enshrine the 10-year, $40-billion program into law.