Olivia Cao
Staff Reporter
“On the eve of Ken Sim’s inauguration as Vancouver mayor, residents living in tents and low-income renters from the city’s poorest neighbourhood marched to demand housing rights”, according to the CBC news article “Downtown Eastside residents march in housing protest on eve of new Vancouver mayor’s inauguration.”
Vancouver is in the midst of a housing crisis, and many low-income people cannot find suitable housing to live in, which has caused a lot of inconvenience to their lives. In addition, Vancouver’s ongoing effort to move people living in tents off Hastings Street has put a lot of pressure on the protesters.
Aeio Marion, who lived in the single-room occupancy, said, “I feel like they are just trying to kill us off and putting us in old buildings which they should just tear down and remodel or renovate and make sure everything is all up to code like the fire sprinklers, the alarms, the water — make sure there is clean water for everybody.”
“The prerequisite for removing people living in tents should be to guarantee them housing that meets code, and having clean water and undamaged houses should be the bare minimum.” Commented Linda Huang, grade 12.
Just as Huang said, it is reasonable that the city would move people living in tents for safety and cleanliness issues, but it is also important to ensure that these people can be housed in appropriate housing. The right to housing for low-income people should be something that the government must guarantee.
Based on the Statistics, an unfurnished one-bedroom apartment in Greater Vancouver now costs, on average, $2,317 per month, up from $2,256 in October. Rent in North Vancouver has increased by 10.4%, making it the most expensive city in Canada with an average monthly rent of $2,760.
As rents rise in Greater Vancouver, many women are forced to continue living with their ex-partners, and those with low incomes cannot afford the rent on their homes. The government should consider how to build more houses to meet Vancouver’s housing needs or lower rents to guarantee a good living environment for low-income people.
Irene Hu, grade 11, said, “Vancouver rents are expensive, and the continued increase in rents is affecting even students’ lives, and the high rents near universities worry me. I think housing is a human right and housing should be a matter of concern for the government.”
Sources:
“Downtown Eastside residents march in housing protest on eve of new Vancouver mayor’s inauguration”
“B.C. to create 1st minister to focus solely on housing crisis, says premier”
“Canada’s five most expensive cities for rentals are all in B.C.”