If "Housing Matters", they would build some

The BC Lieberals latest exercise in moving money to make it look like they're on top of things is "Housing Matters BC", a $40 million subsidy program. While Rich Coleman says the subsidy will benefit 15,000 low income families across the province, it's really a back-door giveaway to developers and landlords. This is the same Liberal government who legalized 20% rent increases when they changed the Residential Tenancy Act, and closed Tenant Appeal offices across BC, it follows that Victoria would continue to screw over people who can't afford a down payment, or are too smart to try and buy their own place without one.

What is about the right wing that they think the public are such idiots that we can bought off for about a $100 a month? First it was the Conservatives "Universal Child Care" bribe, now Victoria follows suit: Coleman claims a family of five living in Vancouver and paying $875.00 a month will receive $110.00 a month in assistance. You show this page a family of five paying $875.00 for a place in this city, and I'll show you a guy walking up to their front door with a Condemned sign.

Throwing rent subsidies around will not help homelessness when there are not enough homes to begin with. Subsidies may (marginally) help somebody in BC keep their apartment, but will also inflate the rental market to keep someone else from finding one. The Vampires of Victoria will build 450 subsidized units this year for all of BC, but lowball estimates put Vancouver's homeless population alone at over 3,000 by the Lieberals iconic year of 2010.