To solve the housing crisis we need to turn away from neoliberal doctrines and look towards solutions that actually work. Our own history, as well as the experiences of our contemporaries abroad, teach us that the only way to restore housing affordability is to create non-market housing alternatives that anchor prices and push the investor class out of the housing system.

The evidence is clear: Canada’s housing crisis is not a simple supply and demand problem. It is a problem of who owns our homes and why. By focusing almost exclusively on expanding supply through the private sector the NHS has given our housing system over to predaceous investors while deeply indebting everyday Canadians.

  • sbv@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    10·
    7 hours ago

    From 1972 onward, between 10-20 percent of all housing built in Canada was public, non-profit, or co-operative owned. These units came with various affordability covenants that anchored prices. Suddenly, private landlords had to compete with a robust public sector that prioritized affordability instead of wealth extraction, lowering costs for everyone.

    …

    Renters could have their monthly payments subsidized through the Assisted Rental Program (ARP).

    …

    Low-income folks who wanted to own a home could secure below-market rate mortgages directly from the federal government, or have their private mortgages subsidized through the Assisted Home Ownership Program (AHOP).

    …

    In Toronto, where participation in FHAP programs was high, real housing costs fell by 30 percent between 1974 and 1978.

    no no no just do thirty year mortgages it’ll be fine

    • sunzu2@thebrainbin.org
      3·
      4 hours ago

      real housing costs fell by 30 percent between 1974 and 1978.

      This line just hurt some people’s feelings very much… mom and pops! bro!