Government inattention, increased building costs and workforce pressures have contributed to an equation that added up to a housing crisis, according to a panel of experts at this year's Vancouver Island Economic Alliance summit.

B次元官网网址淭here is the old saying: B次元官网网址榯o every complex problem, there is a fantastic simple solution' B次元官网网址� and itB次元官网网址檚 wrong,B次元官网网址� said Mark Holland, president of Westplan Consulting Group and Vancouver Island University professor.

He moderated a discussion titled 'The Housing Equation: The blunt truth about what caused the housing crisis and how we can find our way forward' on Oct. 23 at Nanaimo's Vancouver Island Conference Centre.  

B次元官网网址淭he first things we have to do as a collective piece of the economy here on the Island is figure out whatB次元官网网址檚 actually standing in our way and what is it going to begin to take to start working our way back metric by metric, item by item to begin to bring down housing costs over a period of time without crashing everybodyB次元官网网址檚 personal wealth,B次元官网网址� Holland said.

One factor he and other panellists pointed out was federal government pulling out of subsidized housing in the 1980s and '90s.

B次元官网网址淭oday we have half a century that we are behind that we have to catch up and thatB次元官网网址檚 one of the core problems B次元官网网址�" Holland said. "Whether you are left or right of centre, whether you are pro-market or pro-government intervention, both failed, so this is the problem. We are way behind on supply.B次元官网网址� 

He said the Island currently has three to four months of supply in the housing market B次元官网网址� an improvement from just over a year ago when it was around 45 days of supply. Despite being closer to a balanced market, the average price to buy a home is still well over half a million dollars, he pointed out.

Russell Tibbles, principal with Island Places Property Corp. was among the five panellists. He said though there have been efforts to make housing project approvals easier, specifically with provincial densification and secondary suite legislation, it is still a slow and cumbersome process. 

He said municipal staff often have to sift through proposed projects and find how they fit with community plans and policy.

B次元官网网址淭hat helps to fuel what becomes a very antagonistic relationship because you are dealing with someone, oftentimes B次元官网网址� that is trying to administer a policy thatB次元官网网址檚 really not set up for success and quite often itB次元官网网址檚 coming from a local government where the culture is one where you are set up to get to B次元官网网址榥o.B次元官网网址� You have to work hard to get to B次元官网网址榶es.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� 

Tibbles said municipal councillors need to balance the need for more housing against the desires of the community and often more weight is put on concerns about development than housing. 

Scott Dutchak, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Victoria, sat on the panel and said his organization faces cost escalation as it helps people get into affordable home ownership.

B次元官网网址淲e are helping firefighters, we are helping nurses, we are helping all those people in your community that you want in your community to keep it a vibrant, healthy and active community. ItB次元官网网址檚 no longer we are focusing on the most challenged people in our society. We are helping what, when I grew up, were well-paying jobs,B次元官网网址� Dutchak said. 

When the discussion made its way to provincial legislation for secondary suites in single-family dwellings, Dutchak said he believes there are still challenges because municipalities could find themselves unable to add density to neighbourhoods because of inadequate infrastructure. 

B次元官网网址淭he problem with a lot of real estate development and a lot of activity today is these great ideas come out but implementing them is dependent on a local execution that remains, in my opinion, the biggest impediment to actually getting housing growing B次元官网网址� the decision-making is too local,B次元官网网址� he said, pointing to Greater Victoria, where there are 13 municipalities representing a population under half a million. B次元官网网址淭he decision-making is so close to the neighbourhood B次元官网网址� These decisions need to happen at a higher level, at a regional level or even at a provincial level in my opinion if we are going to make a dent in providing any more housing.B次元官网网址�

Coun. Troy Therrien from the Village of Cumberland took the floor during a question-and-answer period at the end of the discussion. He said municipal councils were B次元官网网址渢hrown under the busB次元官网网址� in the discussion about increased costs and cumbersome approval processes.

B次元官网网址淚 fully agree that when the federal government stepped out of building houses, that was a big part of it, but nobody touched on the commodification of housing as one of the reasons that the price of housing is where it is at right now,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚f you go to buy a house and are competing with a bunch of boomers that are looking for rental properties, of course the price is high.B次元官网网址� 

He challenged panellists who said increased costs get passed down to home-buyers.

B次元官网网址淐osts arenB次元官网网址檛 passed on B次元官网网址� the market determines the cost of housing, so you either build the house or you donB次元官网网址檛 based on market conditions, but you are not passing on costs. You are either saying yes or no,B次元官网网址� he said. 

Therrien added that communities live with developments long after they are finished and he believes it is OK for municipalities to take extra time to ensure the projects are right for the community. 

Panellist Rory Kulmala, CEO of the Vancouver Island Construction Association, pointed to labour and materials as a driving factor in high housing prices. He said the cost of living makes it hard to attract tradespeople to Vancouver Island and immigration is costly and challenging. 

B次元官网网址淲e are busy right across the country and the smallest communities are having the same conversation about housing so people can stay in their own community. Their dollar will go farther, their lifestyle will go farther, they can have a nice home and they can raise their families there, so they are not coming out here,B次元官网网址� he said. 

Kulmala said even if there is funding for projects, tradespeople are working at capacity and can only build so much.

B次元官网网址淲e are seeing a demand for housing outpace our ability to keep up with it,B次元官网网址� he said. 

Kulmala responded to the Cumberland councillor's concerns by stressing the urgency of the crisis.

B次元官网网址淭aking the time to do it right has been great but we donB次元官网网址檛 have the time. We know how to build," he said.

The panel discussed the impact of the crisis on renters, agreeing that many people who are renting now could be renters for their whole lives if significant change does not come.

B次元官网网址淲e canB次元官网网址檛 just bottleneck ourselves through government programs into only funding rental and because what happens is people get into rentals, they canB次元官网网址檛 afford a down payment. They will never afford a down payment,B次元官网网址� Dutchak said.

The economic summit was held Oct. 23-24.