Housing affordability and homelessness have never been worse in B.C. than they are right now.
Frustratingly, our province has the highest rents in the country and the most expensive housing in North America. The future is starting to look so bleak that 74 per cent of non-owners have given up on the dream of ever owning a home. This has unfortunately become the “new normal” in B.C. under the current government.
The NDP’s failures on housing aren’t just inconvenient — they are having a disastrous human impact, as homelessness is up 79 per cent in Williams Lake since 2018. The consequences of this government’s failure to act on housing are not simply isolated to Williams Lake, homelessness is worse than ever in every corner of the province.
In Burnaby, homelessness is up 203 per cent since 2017. In Campbell River, homelessness is up 143 per cent since 2018, and in Merritt homelessness is up a staggering 509 per cent since 2018.
Faced with record-high homelessness, government has taken to overpaying for old hotels and using them to warehouse vulnerable people without adequate support. This strategy has failed our communities and led to people suffering, escalating vandalism, and growing chaos on our streets.
Kevin Falcon and our BC United team know that tackling homelessness and housing affordability starts by making it easier to build affordable housing and improving access to treatment and recovery services for vulnerable British Columbians.
Housing will not get more affordable until we cut red tape, dramatically increase housing supply, and deliver the homes that people desperately need.
At the same time, we need to ensure that supports are available to those who need them most.
Something needs to change in B.C. Life has never been more expensive, homelessness has skyrocketed, and British Columbians are giving up on the dream of ever owning a home.
Results matter and British Columbians deserve better — they deserve a government with real solutions and a plan to deliver on affordability.
READ MORE: MLA’S CORNER: British Columbians suffering from NDP’s middle-class squeeze
READ MORE: B.C. city backs off from pulling tax support from non-profit over homeless
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