The B.C. government is building new supportive and social housing units at only a slightly higher pace than it’s tearing down older units, a new study shows.
That means that over the past five years the province has seen a net gain of only 280 units, according to a report released today by the Canadian Centre For Policy Alternatives.
Seth Klein, with the CCPA, said 2,820 social housing units have been torn down or converted for other use since 2006.
“It’s all very good that we’ve seen the kind of initiatives we’ve seen,” said Klein. “But if we’re not bringing new supply on stream, we’re not going to get ahead of this (housing crisis).”
“Based on government figures, we calculate that B.C. could build 2,000 units of housing per year for about $500 million. That seems like a pretty affordable housing price for ending the homeless crisis.”
