OTTAWA—NDP Housing Critic Jenny Kwan issued the following statement in response to a report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) on the Liberals’ failure to meet their housing goals for Canadians, while a recent report shows a 10.7 per cent hike in rent prices since one year ago:
“The NDP is echoing a major concern raised by the PBO in a report: the Liberal government is failing further and further behind its own housing goals because it isn’t accounting for inflation. Meanwhile, the Liberal government’s failure to keep up with the housing needs of Canadians amid a housing crisis is contributing to a whopping 10.7 per cent hike in rent year-over-year.
City TV: Concerns raised about rising cost of rentals for low-income earners: Vancouver MP
A Vancouver NDP MP is sounding the alarm when it comes to rent-geared-to-income housing units, saying incoming changes by the federal government will lead to a severe shortage within the affordable housing market in this country.
Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan says she’s learned that as of March 31, 2028, Ottawa will be cutting subsidy funding to non-profits that operate buildings that include units for those on a fixed income. Once those suites are vacated, she says the price of those units will be bumped to market rates.
For example, a rental suite that’s going for $650 right now could be increased to $1,800 or more.
Kwan adds these changes are happening right now at some buildings in Metro Vancouver as non-profits try to bank money to prepare for their funding to be slashed in the future.
