Housing & homelessness

Time to push back against short-term rentals to help balance Vancouver’s rental market

Jun 10, 2020

COVID-19 has decimated tourism and business travel, posing huge costs onto workers in those industries, but a fascinating side effect has been a more balanced rental market for Vancouver’s long-term renters. Asking rents for vacated units in Vancouver fell by 9 per cent in April compared to a year earlier, and 7 per cent drop… View Article

Dismantling tent cities—why choice matters

Apr 28, 2020

By Kendra Milne

On April 25, 2020 the BC government announced a plan to evacuate tent city communities in Vancouver and Victoria and place residents in temporary accommodations.[2] There have been many calls from community urging the government to recognize that people experiencing homelessness are disproportionately vulnerable to COVID-19 and other health and human rights issues. We commend… View Article

A progressive macroeconomic response to the coronavirus crisis in British Columbia

Apr 27, 2020

By Michal Rozworski

While much of the world remains under strict lockdown and we have yet to determine the full extent of the already-unprecedented economic crisis caused by the global coronavirus pandemic, it is not too early to start thinking about the way out of the crisis. So many people have seen their incomes collapse or their jobs… View Article

Comparing provincial economic responses to COVID-19

Apr 23, 2020

By Marc Lee and Arman Hamidian

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vital importance of collective responses via governments at all levels. The Canadian context of federalism, with a division of powers between federal and provincial/territorial governments, also highlights key differences in approaches to the pandemic. At its best, federalism is an advantageous arrangement, with the federal government addressing national issues,… View Article

A closer look at the BC COVID-19 Action Plan

Mar 24, 2020

By Iglika Ivanova

Less than two weeks have passed since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic and the fast-spreading virus has already led to large-scale economic disruptions and layoffs. Hundreds of thousands of workers, families, businesses and non-profits across Canada are reeling from the tremendous pressures on their lives and finances as a result. It was… View Article

Time to #CancelRent and defer mortgage payments

By Shannon Daub and Alex Hemingway

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

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