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BC's non-solution to homelessness and rental precarity

There's a disconnect in BC provincial politics between the problems and solutions of society. On the one hand, the province is stating it'll build 2,000 living units over ten years: "Province announces 'historic' agreement with Metro Vancouver, B.C. Housing to build 2,000 affordable homes". However, on the other hand homelessness in BC is above 8,000: "Data collected from 25 counts conducted across B.C. in 2020 and 2021 showed 8,665 people identified as homeless, including 222 children under the age of 19 who were accompanied by a parent or guardian", B.C.'s homeless population expected to show increase when counts return in March.

Just as importantly, even with an additional 2,000 public housing homes being built over ten years, there yet remains a significant amount of people earning below the recommended amount people need to earn to afford even the rent of lower-cost privately owned housing units. According to the BC Non-Profit Housing Association, there is an additional 35,000 units needed over the next ten years to help make housing costs affordable. 2,000 units will barely move that figure. They also suggest beefing up BC's non-profit housing societies as well as giving them more decision-making authority.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives also offers a solution I agree with in its "How to build affordable rental housing in Vancouver" report. They suggest BC needs to build 10,000 non-profit affordable units per yer over the next ten years which is quite a difference from the BC government's figure of 2,000 altogether. The CCPA also suggests that the BC government itself needs to take leadership of this problem by developing something like a crown-corporation to build housing.

Seeing this disconnect, it's likely the BC government is not interested in reducing the profits of developers in the province which a robust public housing program would do assuredly. The BC government has chosen a side, and it sides with the rich. They'll provide a program which doesn't provide any solutions or relief for BCers living in homeless or rental precarity. It's business as usual for developers and landlords for the next ten years at least.

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