The Thralls of Capitalism in Vancouver: How Neoliberalism and Settler-Colonialism Criminalize the Unhoused

Résumé

This paper considers the houselessness crisis in Vancouver as a case study highlighting how a history of settler colonialism and a federal shift towards neoliberalism in Canada feed the social issue closer to home. By analyzing current municipal funding in Vancouver, this paper highlights the government’s approach to reducing social support programs and implementing external funding models in their place, while continuously boosting funding for police task forces.

It explores how governmental and political actors socially construct criminal activity and public safety concerns to justify the displacement of unhoused people. The paper also explores how the expansion of police task forces focused on patrolling streets, as well as the city’s development of hostile architecture, work to achieve this goal of displacing unhoused populations under the guise of protecting public safety.

Additionally, by reflecting on the history of property and how access is governed, the paper connects settler colonial systems with the issue of houselessness. Settler colonialism has fueled the development of private property which allows access to shelter to be denied and creates houselessness as a social phenomenon. Public property then becomes the only space for unhoused people, who are restricted and policed within it. Ultimately, the paper argues that neoliberal and settler-colonial frameworks criminalize unhoused people within the Canadian context, justifying under-funding for social supports and over-funding for a police-based approach that fails to adequately address the issue.