Housing Rally Calls to #HALTtheMADNESS
Protest against Vancouver’s housing crisis organized on Sept. 17
The crowd outside of the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sept. 17 was passionate, outspoken, and determined to put a stop to Vancouver’s housing market crisis. It was organized by HALT—Housing Action for Local Taxpayers—a new group confident in their ability to make a difference in the city.
The rally’s goal was to demand that the provincial government lower the price of living in Vancouver. Of course, facilitating a discussion around how to improve affordability here is also expected, as is follow-through to the solutions they decide upon.
A panel of speakers were present that afternoon, with six educated panelists filling the seats. Lawyer Christine Duhaime, Assistant Professor Josh Gordon, Writer Caroline Adderson, MD Resident at Chilliwack General Hospital Dr. Darren Joneson, Chief Executive Officer of the BC Non-Profit Housing Association Associate Kishore Roy, and Professor Paul Kershaw arrived to spread their housing knowledge and opinions.
#HALTtheMADNESS was the rally’s official call to action, with five elements falling under that claim: end corporate donations to political parties, immigrant investor programs, money laundering and tax fraud, AirBnB, and the destruction of affordable rentals. In essence, those points are supposedly driving the absurd price that comes with being a resident in Vancouver, whether it be directly or through a trickle-down effect. If each of them were to be terminated, supporters argue, the crisis that has been savaging Vancouver for years could finally vanish.
One of the protestors, Matthew Hay, focuses on how foreign investment is damaging the market.
“Well, I think that rent prices are ridiculously high. I think that the actual value of the home and the price at which it’s rented often differ wildly,” says Hay. “I think a significant part of it is wealthy families from overseas buying houses in Vancouver for way outside market value in order to eliminate buyer competition.”
The fight against foreign investment has received mass attention lately, with controversy about its racial undertones also being mentioned by media and citizens. The city’s newly-introduced foreign buyer tax has been the subject of both support and criticism this summer.
