Housing & homelessness

Time to #CancelRent and defer mortgage payments

Mar 24, 2020

UPDATE On March 25, the BC government announced a suite of measures to protect renters during the COVID-19 crisis, including a ban on new and active evictions, prohibiting rent increases, and providing a supplement of up to $500 to help cover the cost of rent for those who are losing income due to the crisis…. View Article

What should be next for BC workers and families after the initial federal COVID-19 relief package?

Mar 19, 2020

By Iglika Ivanova

The federal government’s newly announced COVID-19 economic relief measures are a good start to aiding people and businesses whose livelihoods have been disrupted by the ongoing public health crisis. It was crucial for the federal government to act fast and provide reassurance to Canadians that help is on the way and more is coming, with… View Article

Our take on BC Budget 2020

Feb 18, 2020

By Iglika Ivanova and Alex Hemingway

BC Budget 2020 is light on new announcements. It largely marks the final year of implementation of the ambitious three-year plan set out back in 2018 to tackle some of our biggest social and economic challenges head on. The good news is that it delivers on key commitments made (and even ups the amounts slightly… View Article

Will the BC government ramp up its affordable housing efforts in Budget 2020?

Feb 12, 2020

By Marc Lee

A lack of affordable housing continues to be a top issue in Metro Vancouver and more broadly in BC. Since 2016, and in particular the 2018 BC Budget, we have seen some important tax policy changes from the provincial government in response to skyrocketing home prices. These new taxes primarily focus on wealthier homeowners by… View Article

Lessons from the Squamish Nation’s ambitious new rental housing plan

Feb 6, 2020

By Alex Hemingway

As we face a severe housing crisis in Vancouver, the Squamish Nation is poised to add 6,000 new homes—mostly market rental housing—to its 11 acre reserve lands in Kitsilano. This will create a major new ongoing revenue stream for the Nation, while providing rental homes to help ease Vancouver’s ultra-low vacancy rates. The Sen̓áḵw project… View Article

Let’s go big on building affordable non-market rental housing

Dec 11, 2019

By Marc Lee

To fully address Metro Vancouver’s housing crisis we need an ambitious build-out of 10,000 new units per year of non-market, rental housing. This includes public housing and co-ops that are truly affordable for ordinary households. New investments from the BC and federal governments point to a modest revival of public, non-market housing, but these investments… View Article

Property taxes in Vancouver are still too low, fueling inequality and speculation

Dec 2, 2019

By Alex Hemingway

We’ve heard a lot of griping recently about Vancouver’s proposed property tax increase for 2020, but missing from the debate is a reality check on the city’s extremely low tax rates. Vancouver’s property tax rate is, in fact, the lowest in North America, at just $2.56 per $1,000 in assessed value—or 0.26%. Why is Vancouver’s… View Article

Housing platforms in the 2019 federal election

Sep 26, 2019

By Marc Lee

Across the country, the lack of affordable housing is a top of mind concern for most Canadians in 2019. The run-up in housing prices in recent years has pushed home ownership out of reach for many. And, the combination of households staying longer in rental housing—and little new rental housing being built—has led to low… View Article

How much do you have to earn to afford rent in Metro Vancouver?

Jul 18, 2019

By Marc Lee and David Macdonald

Metro Vancouver home prices have been in the news in recent months, not due to bidding wars and double-digit price increases, but because we are seeing the housing market in reverse. The total number of sales for both detached homes and condos are at multi-decade lows, and prices are falling. It’s still too early to… View Article

The roots of our housing crisis: Austerity, debt and extreme speculation

Jun 14, 2019

By Michal Rozworski

We’re now 10 years on from the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Or, as our national mythology puts it, 10 years since Canada breathed a deep sigh of relief as the crisis mostly grazed our economy and financial system. Since 2008, we’ve had 10 years of congratulatory back-patting over our system of financial… View Article

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A progressive take on BC issues

A progressive take on BC issues

Housing & homelessness

Time to #CancelRent and defer mortgage payments

What should be next for BC workers and families after the initial federal COVID-19 relief package?

Our take on BC Budget 2020

Will the BC government ramp up its affordable housing efforts in Budget 2020?

Lessons from the Squamish Nation’s ambitious new rental housing plan

Let’s go big on building affordable non-market rental housing

Property taxes in Vancouver are still too low, fueling inequality and speculation

Housing platforms in the 2019 federal election

How much do you have to earn to afford rent in Metro Vancouver?

The roots of our housing crisis: Austerity, debt and extreme speculation