Coalition for Justice and Human Rights — mission + how it formed

Original source: https://www.coalition4jhr.org/ ; https://ablawg.ca/2024/10/16/edmontons-encampment-litigation-a-view-from-the-inside/ Retrieved: 2026-07-05

The Coalition for Justice and Human Rights is the encampment plaintiff — the group that sued the City of Edmonton in 2023 over encampment sweeps (Coalition for Justice and Human Rights Ltd v Edmonton, 2024 ABKB 26; standing denied Jan 16 2024; billed $11,500 costs, 2024 ABKB 148).

Self-described mission (coalition4jhr.org): to "improve the lives of First Peoples, Canadians, and newcomers using brave and effective strategies in advocacy and education." Vision: "Peace, justice, and accountability are accessible to everyone." Formally founded 2017, "as a group of advocates and workers in non-profit organizations."

Structure (per ABLawg, Anna Lund, the litigator's own account): the Coalition is made of "people working at other organizations, who wanted greater scope to address social issues than they had in their home organizations." Members/directors have "significant experience working with unhoused people in their day jobs." The Coalition deliberately does not seek government funding — the whole point was to be able to challenge governments without a funder's leash. That is the structural contrast with electoral politics in one sentence: a body built to sue the state, not to sit on its council.

The court struck the case on standing precisely because the Coalition was an advocacy body rather than a direct service provider or an individual encampment resident — Justice Martin reasoned an "organization more directly involved in the provision of services" would be preferable, and that the Coalition "did not have a sufficient track record of advocacy." The Charter merits (whether sweeping camps in −24°C cold violates s. 7) were never reached.

NOTE ON PARTNER LIST: a WebFetch of the coalition4jhr.org site surfaced a list of affiliated/partner groups (National Right to Housing Network, Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, Public Interest Alberta, John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights, Tawâw Outreach Collective, 4B Harm Reduction Society, Water Warriors YEG, HARES, Moms Stop the Harm, Bissell Centre, Boyle Street Community Services, EndPovertyEdmonton, Native Counselling Services of Alberta, Elizabeth Fry Society, and others). Treat this list as UNVERIFIED pending a direct read of the site's partners page — the individually confirmed frontline groups (Water Warriors YEG, Tawâw, HARES, Bissell, Boyle Street) are filed separately in this folder with their own primary sources.