Session 20
Bringing Duty to Assist to Canada: What Winnipeg Can Teach Us
What would it look like if Canadian governments and communities had a legal duty to help prevent and end homelessness?
Hosts
- Stephen Gaetz
Panelists
- Janine Bramadat
- Rianna Vasik
- Jaydin Peters
LIVE SESSION
June 23, 2026
What would it look like if Canadian governments and communities had a legal duty to help prevent and end homelessness? And what would be required to make it happen? Winnipeg has answers.
This panel will explore what emerged when young adult lived experts, service providers, and community members came together in Winnipeg to ask what Duty to Assist could look like, what it should look like, and what would be needed to move this idea forward in a Canadian context.
Who Should Watch
Frontline Workers & Leaders
in the Homeless-serving sector
Policymakers & Government
making decisions about how to prevent and end homelessness
Funders & Philanthropic Partners
in the homeless-serving space
Researchers
interested in duty to assist or homelessness prevention
High School Students
Interested in homelessness
Youth
Exiting the CFS system
What You’ll Learn
What homelessness prevention and intervention could look like within a Duty to Assist model
What solution-focused changes and improvements should be reflected in legislation
What reasonable, minimum steps or actions are required to move the Duty to Assist model forward
Hosts
- Stephen GaetzStephen Gaetz is a Professor in the Faculty of Education at York University, in Toronto Canada. He is the President and CEO of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and the Homeless Hub at York University. Dr. Gaetz works in collaboration with partners to conduct research and mobilize this knowledge so as to have a greater impact on solutions to homelessness, and in particular the prevention of homelessness. In 2017 Dr. Gaetz was awarded the Member of the Order of Canada.
Host
- Janine BramadatJanine Bramadat (she/her) is the Manager of Prevention at End Homelessness Winnipeg, where she works collaboratively across systems to advance upstream approaches that prevent homelessness. With over a decade of experience alongside children, youth, young adults, and communities, her work is grounded in partnership, equity, and community-informed practice. Janine is committed to working in respectful partnership with Indigenous communities and approaches this work as a non-Indigenous ally, with humility, accountability, and a focus on supporting Indigenous-led priorities. She prioritizes amplifying the voices of people with lived expertise to help shape policy and program decisions. She holds a Master of Arts in Sociology from the University of Manitoba, and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Winnipeg.
Panelist
- Rianna VasikMy name is Rianna Vasik (she/her), and I have been a part of the coding for Duty to Assist as a research assistant, then became a member of our Youth Advisory Council, and I am currently working at End Homelessness Winnipeg. I want to acknowledge that the positionality of my work is shaped by the lens of my experiences, where I’m from and the intersectionality of my identity. I am a Métis/settler woman, artist & neurodivergent person who was born in Winnipeg, MB, Treaty 1 Territory and am proud to call it my home today. I have lived experience with youth homelessness, which includes being a survivor of religious & family trauma. I am extremely honoured to be a small part of the amazing community working towards ending homelessness and focusing on a decolonized, anti-oppressive, anti-racist and trauma-informed approach to this movement that wants to ensure we include the voices of all marginalized youth.
Panelist
- Jaydin PetersJaydin Peters (They/Them) is a Métis Non-Binary neurodivergent person with lived experience who actively works in housing first as a Peer Support Worker and is a strong believer in harm reduction and strength based, person-centred care. They were born and raised on Treaty 1 Territory. Jaydin is returning to university to continue working towards a BA in Psychology at the University of Winnipeg. They previously worked on a research project known as, Art as Knowledge Mobilization that covered topics of youth homelessness and harm reduction, which intrigued them to continue working in the research field, leading them to the Duty to Assist project.
Panelist
PANELISTS
- Stephen GaetzStephen Gaetz is a Professor in the Faculty of Education at York University, in Toronto Canada. He is the President and CEO of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and the Homeless Hub at York University. Dr. Gaetz works in collaboration with partners to conduct research and mobilize this knowledge so as to have a greater impact on solutions to homelessness, and in particular the prevention of homelessness. In 2017 Dr. Gaetz was awarded the Member of the Order of Canada.
Host
- Janine BramadatJanine Bramadat (she/her) is the Manager of Prevention at End Homelessness Winnipeg, where she works collaboratively across systems to advance upstream approaches that prevent homelessness. With over a decade of experience alongside children, youth, young adults, and communities, her work is grounded in partnership, equity, and community-informed practice. Janine is committed to working in respectful partnership with Indigenous communities and approaches this work as a non-Indigenous ally, with humility, accountability, and a focus on supporting Indigenous-led priorities. She prioritizes amplifying the voices of people with lived expertise to help shape policy and program decisions. She holds a Master of Arts in Sociology from the University of Manitoba, and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Winnipeg.
Panelist
- Rianna VasikMy name is Rianna Vasik (she/her), and I have been a part of the coding for Duty to Assist as a research assistant, then became a member of our Youth Advisory Council, and I am currently working at End Homelessness Winnipeg. I want to acknowledge that the positionality of my work is shaped by the lens of my experiences, where I’m from and the intersectionality of my identity. I am a Métis/settler woman, artist & neurodivergent person who was born in Winnipeg, MB, Treaty 1 Territory and am proud to call it my home today. I have lived experience with youth homelessness, which includes being a survivor of religious & family trauma. I am extremely honoured to be a small part of the amazing community working towards ending homelessness and focusing on a decolonized, anti-oppressive, anti-racist and trauma-informed approach to this movement that wants to ensure we include the voices of all marginalized youth.
Panelist
- Jaydin PetersJaydin Peters (They/Them) is a Métis Non-Binary neurodivergent person with lived experience who actively works in housing first as a Peer Support Worker and is a strong believer in harm reduction and strength based, person-centred care. They were born and raised on Treaty 1 Territory. Jaydin is returning to university to continue working towards a BA in Psychology at the University of Winnipeg. They previously worked on a research project known as, Art as Knowledge Mobilization that covered topics of youth homelessness and harm reduction, which intrigued them to continue working in the research field, leading them to the Duty to Assist project.
Panelist
