17,000 housing units set to lose their funding in the City of Vancouver

This year’s Vancouver homelessness count showed that more people than ever are living on the streets in BC’s largest city. Housing across BC is about to face even more strain with the expected mass expiration of funding for existing social housing. In the next 20 years, over 36,000 units of non-profit housing in Greater Vancouver, including co-op housing, social housing and senior housing, are set to lose their funding. Over 45% of these units will lose their funding in the next six years and the majority of them – 17,000 units – are located in the City of Vancouver.

Unpacking Vision’s lies on affordable housing

If the Vision campaign has taught us anything, it’s that politics is often about lies. Lies, damned lies, and statistics, as Benjamin Disraeli once said. Especially when it comes to housing. Vision has disseminated a mountain of statistics about their affordable housing record. But the numbers aren’t real. They’re not even half real.

When it comes to policy and council record, Vision and the NPA agree on practically everything

This election season, Vision Vancouver and the Non Partisan Association (NPA) are putting forward wedge issues to give the appearance of a conflict about policies. But, as Frances Bula suggested in her recent article for BC Business (pictured above), it’s only branding and image that separate the two ruling parties.

EVENT | A Housing Action Plan for Cities

When they are pressed to comment on social housing and homelessness, most civic politicians pass the buck. It’s a Federal and Provincial responsibility, they say. Cities have the smallest tax base of all governments,they complain. The fact is: there is a lot that cities can do to fight the housing crisis in British Columbia even within their current jurisdictions, legal powers and budgets. If they are willing to face up to the depth and severity of the housing crisis in BC and to take appropriately drastic actions, challenging these limits, they can do even more.