Sun
Low-income renters who stand to benefit from the new subsidy announced Tuesday probably won’t care what it is called.
But the new rental assistance program that is the centerpiece of what the provincial government is billing as an innovative and comprehensive housing strategy is really not a housing policy at all, but a new form of welfare.
Housing Minister Rich Coleman said the program, which will give a subsidy to families earning less than $20,000 a year that pay more than 30 per cent of their income on rent, will not help alleviate the housing crunch, but will at least give badly needed comfort to the 15,000 working families that are expected to qualify.
That does not make it bad, but it leaves undone the more difficult task of addressing the serious shortage in this province of rental housing that is affordable for low-income working families.
On that front, Coleman’s new housing strategy recognizes a number of key elements of the complex problem, but falls short on solutions.
It recognizes that the provincial government cannot on its own afford to build and subsidize enough housing to meet the demand in this torrid market. But the ultimate solution — finding ways to make it profitable for private developers to build affordable housing — is still in the talking stage.
Still, Coleman is at least talking sense. He promised to talk to municipalities about the need to drive down development costs that add tens of thousands of dollars to the price of new homes.
He promised to talk to Ottawa about lowering barriers posed by arcane and punitive taxation imposed on redevelopment and the possibility of providing incentives for developers who are willing to try to create an affordable housing market.
It’s hard to see how Coleman will be able to make any progress through encouraging words alone, though.
While the province has to tread carefully in areas of municipal jurisdiction, if municipalities can’t find ways on their own to reduce development fees, the provincial government should consider using its fiscal and legal clout to intervene.
Otherwise, the gap between what it costs to produce housing and what lower-to-middle income people can afford will continue to grow.
Coleman also recognized that the more immediate needs of the homeless can and should be addressed more directly. The 450 additional supportive housing units for homeless people he promised will not solve the problem, but they will make a welcome difference.
So will the new funding for counsellors to seek out people living on the street who cannot be helped merely by providing more shelter.
Less certain is the impact of the decision to transfer the management of 2,600 housing units over to the Aboriginal Housing Management Association.
Coleman says the move recognizes the disproportionate need for housing among aboriginals, who make up three per cent of the population of British Columbia but 30 per cent of the homeless in Vancouver.
But as with any reorganization, the province should monitor the transfer of authority to ensure that it truly benefits the people who are supposed to receive the services.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006
