Getting a handle on housing in Hamilton

This past weekend an event intended to promote Hamilton as a renaissance city open for investment was marred by an anarchists’ protest during which visiting potential investors and Hamilton residents as well were sprayed with rancid milk, physically assaulted and saw buses and cars defaced with “silly string” and greasy condoms.

Police, apparently, tried to intervene but were unable to catch any of the fleeing masked vandals. That’s unfortunate. This isn’t protest, it’s crime and should be treated that way. Peaceful protest that does not infringe on the rights and safety of others is not only acceptable, it is to be encouraged. When it crosses the line into violence, the perpetrators should face appropriate police and legal action. It doesn’t look like that will happen in this case, but there will be other similar events, and our small band of anarchists have now demonstrated they are a violent threat. Police and anyone else involved should govern themselves accordingly.

The worst thing about this attack, beyond the fact that it’s disgusting and uncivilized behaviour, is that it trivializes real issues that we, as a community, should care about. The vandals hate anything they perceive as being linked to gentrification. Of course, they hate nearly everything and everybody. That means they hate investment, they hate new business and commerce, they hate all redevelopment. But set aside the nonsensical babbling and there are real challenges and problems that Hamilton has, as yet, not come to grips with completely.

A huge one is affordable housing. The underbelly of renaissance and revitalization is its impact on people living on the margins. They can’t afford big rent increases that come along with a vibrant market. They can sometimes be displaced by unscrupulous landlords looking to cash in by gentrifying rental accommodation. And this is in a city that already has a drastic shortage of affordable housing stock and very limited financial resources to deal with that.

Fortunately, both levels of senior government have indicated a desire to get back to the table on housing. Unfortunately, as always seems to be the case, that desire is slow to translate into programs and money. The problem is here now and getting more serious, but the solutions are still on the horizon. Hamilton isn’t sitting still on the problem — witness the mayor’s campaign to reduce poverty and inadequate housing. But by itself the city can do only so much, such as investing in needed repairs and upkeep in existing housing stock.

Hamilton and other cities like it need more support, money and flexibility to deal with the affordable housing deficit. Time is running out. The crisis in no way justifies criminal acts, but it does demand more serious and timely action than has been evidenced so far.