By Doug Clovechok

Every week I hear from people in Columbia River-Revelstoke who are on the verge of homelessness because they can’t afford rent, or the building where they live is being torn down to make way for a new and more expensive development.

At the same time, we need a better system for landlords to be given incentives to provide long-term housing options instead of short-term rentals like Airbnb.  Landlords have spoken to me about the issues they have when tenants damage premises and refuse to vacate.

Until landlords are confident that they have reasonable tools for recourse, many will continue to choose the easier and often more profitable route of renting short-term.

Municipalities like Revelstoke, Golden, and Kimberley are trying to tackle the issue of Airbnb with new regulations and fines for non-compliance but there have been challenges with enforcement.

The housing crisis is not just about the inability to purchase or rent a home. We need more of all types of affordable housing inventory.

In 2017, the NDP promised 114,000 new housing units over ten years. Six years later, we’ve seen just over 10% of those units built, and many of those were projects that had already been started under the previous government.

For many local families, finding a new place to live is time-consuming and stressful. People can’t thrive when they are worried about the necessities of food and shelter.

Rooms in shared houses in Columbia River-Revelstoke are being rented for upwards of $1,200 per month. Many in our tourism-based towns are making below a liveable wage and are struggling. When community members can’t find housing, they are forced to leave. Our communities run the risk of being dismantled, and if we don’t act now, we won’t be able to undo this.

While housing takes the largest chunk of our monthly budget, folks are feeling the affordability crunch on all sides.

With cost-of-living increases across the board, top economists are projecting that B.C. will be facing a recession in 2023 under this NDP government. They have not done nearly enough to protect families and small business from the economic storms ahead.

Our BC Liberal Caucus continues to push for substantive action from Premier David Eby to finally address the crushing affordability crisis impacting families in our communities and across B.C. Whether it’s our push to fast-track construction of new housing supply, our calls to temporarily suspend the two provincial motor fuel taxes for immediate savings, or our proposed legislation to scrap their tax on used vehicles, the NDP have ignored us and the needs of British Columbians.

Frankly folks, we have offered viable solutions to so many of these issues – you deserve better.

UPDATE – NDP ANNOUNCES HOUSING PLAN

While the NDP claim to have refreshed their housing strategy, they are simply abandoning their old and failed 10-year housing plan that promised 114,000 homes.

David Eby confirmed April 3 that the NDP’s 10-year housing plan disastrously failed just halfway through.

After six years and two terms of David Eby and the NDP, the results are the worst housing affordability in North America.

Given David Eby’s track record as a failed Housing Minister, no one should expect any better results from the follow-up plan.

David Eby’s spin on this plan doesn’t match the reality that housing affordability and homelessness is worse than ever under the NDP.

Tent cities are not only multiplying but becoming increasingly violent and unsafe.

Eby has also created chaos in stratas through his Strata Act changes, and has hired more bureaucrats in an attempt to ‘cut down’ on bureaucracy.

• Most of this plan is already announced or delayed towards the end of the decade… this “refresh” strategy is anything but refreshing

• As of last week, just 15,783 homes have been built by government; that’s 13.8% of the NDP’s 114,000 unit promise.

• Just 2,367 student beds have been added by government; that’s less than half their promised student housing.

• David Eby is now trying to count speculation tax units as “new” homes… that’s laughable, because these are not “new” and don’t count towards the 114,000 additional affordable homes promised.

• The CMHC says that B.C. needs to build 570,000 homes by the end of the decade to restore affordability.

• BC Housing is only targeting 60,000 homes built by 2028, nearly half of the 114,000 homes promised.

In total, BC Housing is only planning to build one tenth of what the CMHC says is needed.

– Doug Clovechok is Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA

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