Affordable Housing Strategy
Author: mike | Date: November 28, 2006 | Please Comment!Toward an Alberta Liberal Affordable Housing Strategy Click here to view the document
On October 11th, MLA Dave Taylor and the Southern Alberta Liberal Caucus hosted a town hall meeting on affordable housing in Alberta. At the event many ideas were put forth on how best to implement an effective housing strategy in the province. This is a first draft to be commented on by Albertans. A final draft will be ready early in the New Year.
10:56 am on February 10th, 2007
I sent the following to the former Minister who was in charge of housing during the summer, to my Wheatland County councilor and a rural development board the name of which I cannot recall. What I sent was in slightly more detail however the point of this comment is that I did not receive a single response
There is a crisis in housing at all levels except for those who can afford to buy, lease or rent at the top end. I think that the government should subsidize or provide tax incentives for the construction of all types of housing in some of the smaller communities. Many rural communities are growing very slowly if at all and I understand that some are actually dying. They have access to or may be able to annex some land on which to build both single and multi-family homes. The housing should be a mix of every type and cost including both rental and purchase. There is nothing wrong with mobile home parks or better still lots where mobile homes or modular housing can be moved onto permanent foundations.
There would also be a requirement to establish an affordable and reliable commuter service in order that the workers can get to their place of employment in the cities.
I know there has been some new discussions since that time however I am not sure they are not just more of the “ain’t it awfull” variety. I makes me wonder if anyone actually wants to solve the problem. The homeless need some quick fixes now and not promises that someone will do something eventually. An entire industry has evolved to supply services to this population and I am very concerned that it continues simply to sustain itself and all the paid jobs that have been created to support it. Not a positive comment but it does explain why nothing is changing.
Victoria Driver