SIDNEY
- Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party, is
calling for a national plan to help expand affordable housing. May spoke today
at Tower Premium Woodworking in Sidney with owner Ian Brown, also on the board
of the Saanich Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, about the numerous reasons why
the creation of affordable housing is a must.

“Business owners in Saanich and in many parts of
the British Columbia have complained that the lack of affordable rental units
and housing in their regions makes it difficult for them to attract and retain
the necessary labour force that they need to run their businesses,” stated Ms.
May.

“Without affordable housing, either the employees
eventually leave because the rent is too high, or they tire of the long and
expensive commutes from regions where affordable housing is more available.
Businesses need a large enough, stable labour pool in order to thrive, and the
lack of affordable housing in much of BC and certainly in Saanich is a real
problem,” stated Ian Brown, owner of Tower Premier Woodworking.

Increasing the densities of urban cores increases
the supply and affordability of housing units, while at the same time
minimizing suburban sprawl in farmlands and green spaces in surrounding
regions. The Green Party would implement federal programs for municipalities,
“Municipal Superfunds” that would provide hundreds of millions of dollars in
funding for infrastructure development that would act as incentives for
municipalities to regulate new developments to conform to higher densities in
their urban cores. 

Affordable housing is also vital to stem the growth
of poverty, homelessness and related social problems. The greater Victoria
region has one of the largest homeless populations in Canada, with previous
surveys indicating that there may be one thousand homeless persons in the
municipality of Victoria alone. Homelessness began to escalate in the 1990’s
with federal government cuts to social housing programs and cuts in income
support programs by both the federal and provincial governments. As housing
prices skyrocketed in the 2000’s, even people working minimum wage jobs were
increasingly unable to afford rental housing.

“If 
people who need help are not properly cared for, this puts a strain on
everyone. It should be the right of every Canadian to have affordable, safe and
secure housing. It enhances people’s health, dignity, and life opportunities,”
stated Ms. May. “Affordable housing will alleviate poverty, and ultimately
make for a more stable, secure, and prosperous society for everyone.”

The Green Party would implement a National
Affordable Housing plan to set an annual rate of building affordable housing so
that the supply of housing is no longer an issue by 2019. Under the plan the
government would build 20,000 new and 10,000 rehabilitated, subsidized
affordable units per year for the next 10 years using capital grants and
changes in tax and mortgage insurance regulations. The party supports the
delivery of dramatically increased social housing dollars to provincial and
municipal governments through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
(CMHC). The housing provided must be designed with energy conservation in mind.

“I believe in a Canada where every Canadian
has the right to safe and affordable housing,” said Jared Giesbrecht,
Green candidate for Victoria. 
“With approximately 50 deaths every year in Victoria associated
with living on the streets, we do not require further study and investigation –
we need clear priorities and inspired leadership.”

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Contacts: 

Debra Eindinger
National Press Secretary
613-240-8921

Kieran Green
Director of Communications
Green Party of Canada
613-614-4916
Kieran.green@greenparty.ca