All sides frustrated with NDP rental housing performance

VICTORIA (December 12, 2019) – BC Liberal Critic for Housing Todd Stone is once again raising concerns about the NDP’s rental housing plan after multiple reports have drawn attention to John Horgan and his government’s continued failure to deliver on their promises. “What we are now seeing is a widespread consensus from people on all sides of the political spectrum that this government is failing to live up to its promises on rental housing,” says Stone. “The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is now reporting that the government is missing the mark on affordable housing to the tune of 10,000 rental homes per year. With every day that goes by, we are seeing the NDP fall further behind on housing.” Two recent reports — one from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and another from Partners for Rental Housing, a coalition of organizations supporting the growth of rental housing in B.C. — have stated that there is a growing deficit of rental units in B.C. and that the NDP plan is failing to achieve its objectives. It is evident that this government is breaking its promise to build 114,000 homes, delivering nowhere near the needed units to keep up with population growth. “John Horgan and his government have repeatedly spoken about an urgent need to address the housing affordability crisis throughout B.C, and yet these new reports show that they are actually doing very little to improve the situation,” concludes Stone. “If John Horgan and the NDP truly want to take real action on affordability they need to get serious about increasing housing supply.”