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October 9th, 2018

Jagmeet Singh Blasts Federal Inaction on Housing Crisis, Calls for Faster Spending on Co-Ops and Non-Profits

BURNABY – NDP Leader, Jagmeet Singh, slammed Conservative and Liberal governments for helping to create the housing crisis in Greater Vancouver, and urged Justin Trudeau to immediately help build new co-op and non-profit housing units.

“Under ten years of the Stephen Harper Conservative government, not a single new unit of co-op or non-profit housing was created here in Burnaby,” said Singh. “And how many new co-op or non-profit units were created under the last three years of this Liberal government? Zero.”

Federal Liberal budgets in the 90s slashed housing spending and dismantled Canada’s national housing programs, setting the stage for today’s housing crisis and destroying relationships between government and community organizations. Reports show that two out of five people in Burnaby South struggle to pay for housing, and yet just last week Justin Trudeau’s Liberals voted down an NDP motion to roll out funding now to address the housing crisis.

“We’re facing a crisis here and the Liberals are telling Canadians to wait until after the next election for 90% of the funding,” added Singh. “People in Burnaby can’t wait, Canadians can’t wait. I’m calling on the Prime Minister to create a dedicated fund to increase local planning capacity and kick start the creation of new units right now.”