British Columbia

TRIBUNE PHOTO — DAN KEETON

MPTY BUILDINGS ... controls needed, say housing activists Noreen Shanahan,

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John Tufts, David Lane, Barb Mitchell, Russ Hunter.

Groups press action
against demolitions

Some 50 people, many representing
housing societies and anti-poverty organi-
zations, demanded April 24 that the city
take action to end the process of evictions
that has accompanied Vancouver’s spiral-
ling demand for housing.

Interveners who spoke at the special ses-
sion of city council until midnight also critic-
ized the city for hosting a one-day
symposium on the housing and eviction cri-
sis because it does not include public partic-
ipation.

Earlier that day, members of several
community and housing groups called for a
series of provincial and civic measures to
protect tenants outside three adjacent
empty apartment buildings in the city’s Ker-
risdale district.

“We're demanding immediate action

from city hall and the provincial govern-.

ment to get us out of the crisis,” said David
Lane of the B.C. Tenants Rights Coalition.
“So far, we’ve seen very little.”
Lane said the last provincial budget
amounted to a net loss for social housing
funding, and noted the province has no

form of demolition control.

The tenants coalition, the Downtown

Eastside Residents Association, End Legis-
lated Poverty, The Vancouver Food Bank,
First United Church, B.C. Old Age Pen-
sioners, Vancouver Status of Women and
seven other groups released a statement
with demands, including a rent review sys-
tem, a moratorium on demolitions, and
20,000 new social housing units.
_ Lane said a symposium sponsored by
Mayor Gordon Campbell on May 8
includes a small panel but does not allow for
public participation, other than “a few
minutes at the microphone.”

Evictions in Vancouver have spiralled
since the real estate boom, which has moti-
vated developers to tear down existing
lower-rent buildings in favour of condomi-
niums and other expensive types of housing.
The west side of the city has been particu-
larly hard-hit, with high-profile evictions of
several seniors on fixed incomes.

The three apartment buildings on West
40th Avenue were all in good shape and
were of late Fifties/early Sixties vintage.

103rd year anniversary
May Day greetings
Port Alberni & District Labour Council

What we desire for ourselves we wish for all.

Henry Nedergard
President

John Vezina
Secretary-Treasurer

These are the demands to ease the hous-
ing crisis, excerpted from a statement by
several housing, tenants, community,
women’s, seniors and church organizations
in Vancouver.

The housing crisis in Vancouver is
mounting, threatening tenants and home-
owners alike. Tenants are being evicted
to make way for high-priced luxury con-
dominiums. Seniors are being forced out
of the suites where they have lived for 40
years. People on low and fixed incomes,
particularly women, are the hardest hit.

Perfectly livable, affordable, ‘older
apartment buildings are facing the
wrecking ball in Kerrisdale, Kitsilano
and other neighbourhoods. Rents in-
creases of 30 and 40 per cent are com-
mon. Homeowners have been hit with
major property tax increases that will
force some to leave life-long homes and
neighbourhoods.

The causes of the crisis are varied.
Speculation and flipping have caused
land values to skyrocket on Vancouver’s
west side in particular, but also through-
out the Lower Mainland. An influx of
people moving to Vancouver from east-
ern Canada and abroad has greatly
increased the demand for both rental
apartments and single family homes. It is
predicted that 20,000 new households
will move to the Lower Mainland in
1989.

The private market has, for the most
part, stopped building rental housing. In
the past year there were five times as
many condominiums built as rental
apartments. In fact, rental housing con-
struction has been ona steady decline for
more than a decade. To make matters
worse, thousands of rental units have
been converted to condominiums over
the last 10 years.

Many tenant protections were wiped
out in 1984 with changes in the landlord
and tenant laws. There are no longer rent
controls to safeguard affordable rents.
Landlords can evict in half the time for
demolition and condominium conver-
sion. Developers no longer have to com-
pensate tenants for moving costs.
Municipalities have few powers to pre-

Ban on demolitions, more
social housing demanded

vent demolition or conversion of affor-
dable housing.

Compounding all of these factors has
been a dismal record of government
assistance for social housing alternatives.
B.C. has has one of the worst records for
funding seniors housing, non-profit
housing, public housing and co-ops.

There is no single solution to the hous-
ing crisis. A variety of measure are
needed from all three levels of govern-
ment — federal, provincial and munici-
pal. We need action and we need it fast,
to prevent eviction and relocation on a
major scale.

Immediate action could include:

e A fair rent review system requiring
landlords to justify rent increases on the
basis of increased operating costs.

© Longer timelines for eviction for
landlord use or redevelopment of prop-
erty, with full relocation costs borne by
the owner.

@ A provincial Rental Housing Pro-
tection Act allowing demolition of affor-
dable rental housing only where a
developer provides an equal number of
affordable housing units or contributes
to a social housing replacement fund.

@ Increased pensions and welfare
rates reflecting current rents.

@ A city moratorium on conversions
from rental housing to condominiums.

@ Acity moratorium on demolition of
affordable rental housing until provin-
cial protections are in place.

@ A speculation tax on profits from
flipping property, with exemption for
long-time owners, tax revenues to be
used as part of a social housing replace- ~
ment fund.

® Municipal, provincial and federal
funds to help upgrade existing affordable
housing, particularly basement suites.

@ Funding for 20,000 new social hous-
ing units in Greater Vancouver <: an
immediate short-term goal, suitable .o a
range of groups including seniors, dis-
abled, single parents and those with spe-
cial needs, provided through a range of
social housing alternatives including
public housing, non-profit housing and
co-op housing.

Victoria Labour Counc

1889-1989

brings

MAY DAY GREETINGS
in the year

of our

7 00th anniversary

Working for trade unions

MAY DAY GREETINGS
from the executive
and the staff of the

MAY DAY GREETINGS |

& Building with pride for 99 years. |

Carpenters Local 452

_ B.C. GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES’ UNION

JOHN T. SHIELDS, President.

Pacific Tribune, May 1, 1989 e 3 4