Editor:
I find it difficult to believe that people who have lived in this town for many years when housing was available for most working people are told that if they don’t like the massive development that has taken place, they can leave town. Really?!
Yes, the average citizen like me, who has lived and paid taxes here for well over 40 years, may find the changes in livability somewhat overwhelming and negative. Did we cause a less livable community because of greater population growth with more crowding, traffic and amenities? No! Did we cause the lack of affordable housing? No!
What is needed, in my opinion, is not lack of public discourse or difference of opinion, but to find answers to the questions of differing opinions on why? Why did the federal government bring in over one million people last year, when we do not have adequate housing for those already here? Why do we allow rich foreign investors, many of whom do not live here, to buy up housing, which has played a role in the ridiculous increase in housing prices to the point that many citizens, including my own children and grandchildren, have no hope of owning a home?
There are many questions that need answers. What we do not need is to point fingers at each other for problems that have been foisted upon us by lack of action and lack of planning by senior governments. That, in the opinion of many people including myself, is where the responsibility belongs and where the answers lie – in the hands that govern us.
Bill Zander
📢 SOUND OFF: What has caused the housing crisis in the Lower Mainland? What do levels of government (municipal, provincial and federal) need to be doing to address it? Share your thoughts — send us a letter.
