Season 3 Episode 2In this episode, we continue exploring the context behind Canada’s housing crisis — especially for women and gender-diverse people. While many conversations on housing focus on how systems “used to work,” the truth is that since settlers arrived finding safe and secure housing for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit households has never been straightforward.We break down the distinctions between First Nations, Métis, and Inuit, and turn our attention to the more than 80% of Indigenous people in Canada who now live off their home territories - referred to as “urban Indigenous people” - often without access to the land, community, or cultural supports that shape belonging.We meet Pamela Spurvey, an urban Indigenous woman and Sixties Scoop survivor, who opens up about what it was like to grow up displaced, move through the foster care system, survive addiction, and fight her way back to her children. As she tells her story, she reflects on what really makes a home, not just a place to stay, but a place where you feel safe and rooted. She talks about how instability can shape everything from your identity to your mental health, and the added barriers Indigenous mothers face when they’re trying to bring their kids out of care. She also highlights how cultural reconnection, supportive women, and community organizations helped her rebuild her life, and why systems must shift toward strength-based approaches that value lived experience.Then we have Monique, a Métis and Two-Spirit person from Red River Métis and Treaty 1 territory. Monique’s story spans seven provinces and a lifetime of relocations shaped by survival, relationships, cultural identity, and the search for a place that truly feels like home. They confront misconceptions about Métis identity and describe what it was like to leave home at 16 and navigate housing that was often unstable or unsafe. Monique reflects on the emotional toll of constantly shifting housing, the effort to maintain agency and belonging, and the importance of creating a home that reflects who you are. Their story also sheds light on how housing precarity becomes even more complex for gender-diverse Indigenous people.Both Pamela and Monique remind us that housing isn’t just physical — it’s where you’re seen, where you’re safe, and where your story belongs. And for many Indigenous people, historical displacement, colonial systems, and modern barriers make this much more complicated than geography.In the next episode we’re moving on to families who came over from Europe years ago, and how those experiences have shaped the challenges and barriers for White women to access housing in Canada today.Guests in order of appearance:Pamela Spurvey (Urban Indigenous woman, Treaty 6 — Beaver Lake Cree Nation)Featuring Monique Courcelles (Métis & Two-Spirit)Music: A special thank you to Reid Jamieson and CVM for providing some of the music throughout the episode. www.reidjamieson.comYour host, Andrea Reimer, is a housing advocate, educator, and former Vancouver City Councillor who’s experienced homelessness firsthand. Since 2019, she has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Andrea has spent her career at the intersection of power, policy, and courage to catalyze transformative change and here, she brings that passion to the stories of women and housing across Canada.

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