IB次元官网网址檓 not interested in the value of my home. I chose what was semi-rural because I donB次元官网网址檛 need amenities many younger people demand.
My parentsB次元官网网址� families had 3-5 kids, their parents had 10, so why canB次元官网网址檛 we find enough homes for the 2.3 average birth rate? It doesnB次元官网网址檛 help when Canada allows more than 200,000 newcomers a year while many long-established Canadians have been waiting longer as well as new immigrants stuck in government delays due to backlogs.
The immigrant investor program allows wealthy foreigners to arrive with one family member to live in a mansion, avoiding taxes. We donB次元官网网址檛 chastise fellow Canadians for contributing to our housing problems, but we think a speculation tax will suffice. Many want to live here, thereB次元官网网址檚 no stopping it, and densification isnB次元官网网址檛 working. Government canB次元官网网址檛 stop rising house values, some have slowed it but CanadaB次元官网网址檚 government epitomizes Robin Hood, albeit they steal from the rich and poor.
Offshore investors started B.C.B次元官网网址檚 housing issues after Expo 86, which has a ripple effect in this province. Realtors got their families and developers involved, and no matter how many homes are built, the demand will never stop nor get affordable in most of Canada. Most choose urban over rural areas, and many cities around the world have seen nothing but unmanageable growth.
Mr. Smith is correct in cutting red tape for our slow-moving, three-tiered government, but most workers involved in home construction are grossly overpaid. Add the cost of materials, which only gets lower in a glut supply. This is not possible with constant growth. Make or grow your own food, drive an older vehicle, buy used, and donB次元官网网址檛 plan that family or future pet until you have a place to raise them. If all else fails, move to a country where things are more affordable, and you can watch the whole cycle of past failed affordable housing attempts reiterate itself, while you wonder what went wrong in the country you just left.
Stuart Walker
Central Saanich
