Housing a hot issue

by Dustin Gill

There will be 2,500 new affordable homes within four years and a rent freeze on existing public housing if an NDP government is elected, party leader Dwain Lingenfelter announced in Prince Albert on Oct. 28.

The announcement is a step in the right direction, but falls short of what’s needed, according to Peter Gilmer of the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry. Gilmer added that the NDP’s promise to institute rent control is “absolutely necessary.”

“We’re looking at a 43 per cent increase in rent in Regina between 2006 and 2010. Now, 40 per cent of renters are paying more than half their monthly incomes in rent,” he said.

The NDP promise is a good first step, but is  just the tip of the iceberg of what’s needed, said Hirsch Greenberg, a housing and homelessness researcher at the University of Regina.

Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce has taken a strong stand against rent control.

“There are barriers that need to be addressed first and foremost.” said chamber CEO Steve Steve McLellan. “We are penalizing rental accommodation on the property tax side, and we are penalizing them on the corporate tax side, and neither one of those are encouraging people to build more apartments or rental accommodations.”

McLellan said  public funding should be spent on improving social services to address issues that  lead to homelessness, while at the same time eliminating market barriers that discourage private investment in affordable housing.