Charlottetown

No one on our Island needs to be reminded that we have a housing crisis. Almost half (45% according to Statistics Canada) of us in Canada are worried about this issue — rising building costs and rising rent, but also basic availability of a place to live in decent conditions.

Did you know that Canada actually has a law — the National Housing Strategy Act — that says everyone is entitled to accommodation that meets fundamental standards: your place-to-live is to be affordable, habitable, accessible, secure and culturally appropriate; it needs to have basic services available, in a safe location that allows engagement with local economies and services.
Ask yourself: are we — despite all the pronouncements of successive old-party governments — meeting that goal?

We know that entrepreneurial initiative has traditionally been one effective force in meeting the need for housing. But we also know that despite all the incentives posed to corporate developers, PEI still has a housing crisis. New Democrats believe strongly in using the power of government — the power that is designed for and is accountable to the citizenry — to get things done that are not being done adequately through private enterprise. That’s why the NDP vision is founded on the principle of a mixed system for creating and managing housing.

Party Leader Jagmeet Singh vowed last week, for instance, that an NDP government would unlock public land to build affordable homes. It would use suitable federal Crown land to build more than 100,000 rent-controlled homes in the next decade. He further promised $1-billion over five years to acquire more public land for construction.

Joe Byrne listens to the concerns, and he knows that governments at all three levels have to act, forcefully and immediately. Beyond traditional private construction benefiting those who have the means to pay for it, Joe sees four ‘streams’ of housing development and management:

1. Public building and management of retail rental – That is, governments should now be getting directly into the commercial market — building and providing the mortgage to allow low-income persons achieve ownership — but at affordable rates related to minimum wage and CPI inflation.
2. Joint/partial public funding to include affordable units – Partner with willing builders to include a significant number of units for people on limited incomes. Use loans, access to public land, and such — but under stringent contractual terms set by regulation to assure that the units stay affordable with ongoing oversight by government. Think, for example, of a ‘25-over-25’ program: 25% of a building’s units to be guaranteed affordable (e.g. 25% of minimum wage) for 25 years.
3. Support for community-based housing initiatives – Use grants, tax incentives, access to public land, and expertise to boost housing projects undertaken by co-ops, municipalities, service groups, Habitat for Humanity and such non-profit organizations.
4. ‘Social Housing’ – Renew the historic provision of government owned (whether constructed or purchased) units for rental to seniors, persons with disabilities and other disadvantaged/low-income persons — at affordable rates related to minimum wage and CPI inflation.

One particular plan — an example of New Democrats’ strategy of using the ‘public-power’ of government: Jagmeet has called for re-direction of CMHC toward its original purpose of supporting ordinary people rather than corporate developers — by helping first-home buyers with low-interest, public-backed mortgages.

For Joe Byrne and New Democrats, housing — a decent, affordable place to live for all people in our community — is a top priority. As Jagmeet put it: “People are working hard and doing everything right and still can’t afford a home—that’s not fair and we’re going to make it right.”