Living wages aren't properly calculated.
In Vancouver living wage is said to be $20.52 but average one bed rent is $2200 a month. W/ Utilities. $2500 a month. You are supposed to spend 25% of your income on housing... So you need an income of 120k a year or $57.69 an hour net.
Landlord in hearing: "How can I afford to give them multiple months of rent for free?"
RTB - "What do you mean by afford you aren't giving them anything?..."
Then dawns the realization that the landlord has been living off their tenants entirely.
It's weird how only the top 5% of earners are the only ones who can qualify for a mortgage in Vancouver and yet the renters in the city who earn significantly less are expected to pay rents that cover the majority of those same mortgages.
@fcp1992
If you rent out to cover the entirety of your capital costs you are not a housing provider but someone who is exploiting someone else's labour for your personal gain.
@pop2cas
I'm sitting in on some RTB hearings - names, etc, of course, would never be shared for privacy reasons, but it's interesting to see what's going on in BC right now. I have my own to share soon as well.
@AndersonBooz
I'm sorry that has been the case for you and that shouldn't be the case - that's not a pet number - every economic study since the 1930"s has put that as the max people should spend for a healthy economy. The fact people spend more is a travesty and that's the point of this tweet
My family is at the Coquitlam Library today for Drag Queen Story Time and it's so surprising to me to see the volume of protestors - thankfully though there is a large volume of people there to buffer said protestors. My kids want to go to story time, not an altercation.
Foreign students and workers in Canada are sold a false bill of goods where they believe that they can come here and make a good living. When they arrive the cost of living is so exponentially more than they can imagine and wages are so low that regret and despair quickly set in.
In this message a landlord not living on a property tells us to remove a
#NDP
sign that the renter's inside asked us to put up. Renters often tell me to avoid trouble with landlords they can't put up signs and more than half of Vancouver South is renters.
#Elxn44
Is it just me or is Liberal Twitter aggressively going against the NDP in the last days of this election? Calls of strategic voting, saying Jagmeet didn't get a shout from Obama, maybe they realize people can see past 338 and can vote in NDP in areas they've been told they can't.
I'm watching Buy My House on Netflix and I keep hearing things like "It rented as a family home for $1800 but now I make $21,000 a month doing short term rentals." It just baffles me that no one sees any of this as wrong.
I don't even know how to weigh in on the BCNDP DQ of Anjali Appadurai. It looks bad, it feels bad, and even if in their mind rules were broken - how can you look at an influx of passionate active people and not think to find a compromise? It's a bad position to be in.
I've been tagged a lot today in a twitter campaign about the
#TigrayGenocide
happening. This is something unfortunately I am only recently hearing about. Awareness of what's happening and preventing future colonial measures is important.
So my toddler scratched someone at a nanny share and the mother of that child freaks out and says she'll go public because I'm running to be an MP.
Election season is fun.
Does anyone else find it weird that you can be an adult but if you don't own your own home you have to allow a stranger into your personal space to inspect how you live and can basically cast judgement on if you are worthy enough to have a roof over your head?
Being able to express yourself politically heavily favours landowners because of this & in a city where housing costs have skyrocketed that means it favours wealthier people and older people who bought early. Remember that as you drive for blocks and see no signs at all.
#Elxn44
@TheAgentNDN
I was hoping that the pivot in society would be to address the gross inequity that exists - that Covid helped highlight - instead this desire to go back to "the way things were" is so many steps backwards that this regression is deeply disheartening, when we have so far to go.
Entering the building my kids were uncomfortable but now during story time they are having a blast. Interacting with the story, clapping and dancing. The protestors are the only ones who caused children harm. The children just see a glamorous lady with pink hair reading a story.
@ArielleDundas
Downtown Van Bill Murray walks past me. I'm not 100% convinced it's him so I follow him, accidentally back to his hotel. He notices me as he boards the elevator, I say I work in film and am doing a movie with Heather Graham nearby he says tell her I say hi, and don't stalk me.
This may sound offensive or unrealistic but the truth is we've known since the 30's that in order to have healthy economic system- we should spend 25% of income on housing - so you can save for retirement, emergencies, and education. Anything that says it's higher is bargaining.
People not voting outnumber any winning candidate in all regions, so if you see signs for parties you don't support all over and think it's pointless to vote at all, remember - renters are evrywhere. Organize, speak about voting intention, and most of all get out and vote.
#Elxn44
Joining a
#Union
is what lead me to the
#NDP
I gained coverage for: prescriptions, dental, eyeglasses, mental health support access and thought to myself "why isn't this the baseline for everyone?" This
#LabourDay
during
#Elxn44
remember that the NDP is the party for all workers.
No one should feel unsafe taking their children somewhere to be read stories but that's exactly what vibe this is giving off. People are trying to intimidate parents and children from attending, it's loud & scary. Children are the ones being harmed by the protests feeling unsafe.
Now articles say one can spend up to 50% of income on housing. Where is that extra 25% coming from? It's an economic pie chart. The total is always 100%. You cant take more space out of a pie. A pie is a pie. What does that 25% extra allocated to housing make you lose out on?
In the 80's lenders started to suggest 30%, the numbers just didn't work. Instead of addressing the wage gap forming, they increased what also increased their profits: student loans, car payments, credit cards. Costs that didn't previously exist and ballooned in recent years.
What's on your top list for confidence supply?
Mine are:
Electoral Reform
Pharmacare
Housing Reform
Wealth Tax
Childcare for all career types
Climate Goals that actually reduce emmissions
#cdnpoli
#cdnpolitics
#NDP
#LPC
Suppressed wages, debt cycles, and using housing as an investment instead of a need to be filled for people have made it nearly impossible for many families to succeed and thrive within the recommended percentages.
When this economic pie chart isn't balanced, households spend on immediate needs and try to look like it's not all falling apart. They don't save for emergencies or for retirement. In times of crisis they have to rely on government because they don't have budgetary space to save.
@Mariefree0
It isn't sexualized though, go to one yourself to witness it. And if you're asking why would drag queens do this? They are performers, they are entertaining, they get to use their personaes in different contexts and I don't see any harm in this whatsoever.
The amount of online vitriol over the DQST in Coquitlam yesterday in the comments is excessive. I wish people were this engaged going over housing reform or workers rights but low hanging fruit apparently is the ticket for engagement.
@FreeWheelinRob
And that's your choice, protesting other people's choice though is ridiculous. I'll say it's entertaining, they are performers and the kids do love it.
@therealzevgood
This is why I'm glad the play The Laramie Project exists. Those not in the community can understand through art and help stop things like this from happening again.
Can we call Police Unions something other than unions so it's clear that they aren't part of the labour movement? Something like Guilds, Associations, or Syndicates?
My question is: What do you spend on housing? Utilities & taxes included. Now take that amount and calculate what you need to be making for that to be 25% of your income. For some you'll be in that threshold and that's great. But I suspect many will be surprised at the number.
I met someone doorknocking yesterday in Vancouver South saying they support me and the NDP but were thinking of strategically voting Liberal.
I said don't let the tail wag the dog.
Polls and Signs don't vote, you do. If you want change vote for it.
#Elxn44
#NDP
#ReadyForBetter
Happy to share an endorsement by
@MatthewGreenNDP
- Matthew was kind enough to do a zoom townhall with shortly after the COVID-19 shut downs last May. Matthew is the type of MP I like to see in Ottawa and I hope to join him.
#NDP
#Elxn44
#Solidarity
My name is officially on the ballot for Vancouver South! Thanks to everyone who signed my papers, (hundreds so really thank you!) I look forward to meeting more people and hearing your ideas on how to make both the community and country better for you.
#Elxn44
#NDP2021
#NDP
I've had a weird emotional day today and it comes from a lot of inner turmoil, as I was raised to be ashamed of my Indigenous heritage - as it would hurt my chances of success. My mother was very obviously Cree looking but I with my Irish father became white passing.
#NDTR2021
With that economic inbalance, the government is forced to chase crisis after crisis- whether that be a housing crisis of 2008, environmental disasters or a global pandemic.
Treating housing as an investment instead of a need for people has created a situation where ever increasing housing prices is by design. Corps owning houses means they are mandated to increase profits and by that extention costs always will go up. Supply alone won't solve it.
Still more votes to be counted in Vancouver South but looking at the gains we are projected to have makes me hopeful and inspired for future elections. Thank you to everyone who helped make this campaign happen and I can't wait for more of you to join me next time.
#cdnpoli
#NDP
Affordable Housing.
Pharmacare.
Dental Care.
Wage and Wealth Equality.
Eliminating Student Debt.
Environmental Sustainability.
Addressing the Drug Crisis.
Childcare for all workers, not only those who work 9-5.
A strong economy that supports workers.
#VancouverSouth
B.C. needs right of first refusal to all residential housing attempting to be sold to REITs. The province should have the ability to purchase those properties to create affordable housing instead selling off to investment trusts.
Our social safety nets maximums don't cover the cost of living in Canada.
EI, disability, heck even rent banks which are loans cap out at 2k in BC and no family is renting for less than that.
Is the expectation that everyone just disappears?
I drive around and see all of this construction for new condo buildings - thousands of units - and I wonder: Who can afford these? Individual buyers earning the median income cannot, but Corporations / REITs that now own more than 20% of all rental housing in Canada can.
Seeing landlords say in comment sections that they need to kick current tenants out to increase rent to cover costs and having other landlords inform them that is illegal and they would have to pay a year's rent as punishment if caught is surprisingly satisfying.
Someone said to me that basic economics tells you that if you increase housing supply the market will lower rents.
That's not how it works. If you look at the stats around increasing supply and density you'll see that's just not how it has worked historically. Let me explain. 1/
@CBCPitchbot
We also don't measure Canadian sourced fossil fuels when they leave our borders, a clever accounting trick to make it seem as if we produce less carbon emitting sources than we do.
This blows my mind- you don’t adjust hundreds of years of studies to make profits make sense.
This makes absolutely no sense. 100% doesn’t become 115% because wages and seller expectations are out of line.
No amount of hard work is going to make housing affordable for most Canadians when you need over a quarter million in income to even qualify for a mortgage. This isn't personal failure. This is policy failure
@tereziafarkas
$35 Million over 4 years to PEI to get drug coverage up to date is not Universal Pharmacare, paying $1.5 Billion in court as a settlement is not clean drinking water, you're not taxing the rich, Net Zero 2050 isn't soon enough, your affordable housing isn't affordable, sorry LPC.
@MapleWaterRock
Or... they can work together in parliament? I don't understand this obsession with maj. gov., when electoral reform comes it will be a thing of the past anyways. The best thing to do is to have llMP's draft and support legislation that is in the best interest for all Canadians.
@MrMarkManning
It's more than that, it's REITs owning more than 20% of rentals, it's using housing as an investment at all instead of being a need fulfilled for people. You're right in that cities and governments benefit off of high property costs which in turn is high property taxes.
Just getting off work from a film set. I worked 4:00pm till about 5:30am. I'll be out canvassing later and have a debate in the evening at 6:30pm.
My working reality isn't that abnormal.
We need people in Parliament who understand this.
#Elxn44
#cdnpoli
#workingclass
#setlife
@Unbranded63
What a toxic way of thinking. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. You aren't owed votes, they are earned. Maybe you should consider voting NDP if you're afraid of the CPC.
If we keep chasing the idea that we can build our way out of the housing crisis we will keep wondering why nothing has changed every 5-10 years. We have an affordability crisis and a wage /wealth equality crisis, if we don't address those: nothing will get fixed. /10
This would make a large chunk of housing available for REITs to gobble up. REITs already own over 20% of rental housing in Canada. If we don't regulate and monitor who can own how much, the trajectory of ownership will go from owner occupied to solely landlords sooner than later.
@doughill58
@ziannlum
@althiaraj
@Laurel_BC
The problem with barriers to work is those barriers prevent others from being able to try for the job in the first place. You see one person but there are thousands who never even get to the point of running because of said barriers. Hybrid systems allow accessibility.
Canada has had 1.3 Million vacant homes for years.
I will say this again: we cannot build our way out of a housing crisis.
We need to shift focus on to how housing is distributed and what metrics are used to determine its cost - tying housing costs to the median income.
@MatthewGreenNDP
Companies that recieve government money and then proceed to pay out dividends equal or in excess to that amount should be able to be charged for fraud. They proved they didn't need the money and they are defrauding the Canadian people to line the pockets of investors.
There is a large amount of disdain for Jagmeet Singh being populer on TikTok as if it is a bad thing.
Isn't this an identical sentiment to polticians being on Television in the early days of TV?
Communicating with people you represent in all forms available is a good thing.
It started at the back of a campaign bus. Now, Jagmeet Singh has the biggest TikTok presence of any politician in the country.
As he prepares for a possible federal election later this year, the party will have a key edge it’s never had before.
Changing two diapers off camera during a Zoom meeting and trying to stop the dog from eating said diapers.
Me: *Under breath* This is a shitshow.
My Toddler: WELCOME TO THE SHOW!!!!!
@DonTrav53031133
Don what am I grooming them for? A world where people are accepted and not tossed out for being different? Because it's not a terrible world vs the one where people are assuming everyone wants to have sex with them as appears to be case with the protestors.
@erinotoole
1. There isn't a coalition.
2. Parliament leads by example and by having hybrid in person/remote work to promote accessibility other organizations are more willing to as well.
3. Everyone is still working, qualifying accessible work as "not showing up to work" is privileged.
I rarely see election signs in the towers along Marine Drive in Vancouver South but a voter sent me this and I think it should absolutely be a new trend.
#Elxn44
#cdnpoli
#NDP
#MyVanSouth
#VanSouth
Who is running the CMHC? You can’t move the goal post based off what people have spent, you fix the problem. Changing the “affordable” definition from 30% to 44% isn’t reality - it’s policy failure. Where does that extra 14% come from? Retirement? Childcare? Quality of life?
I attended the question period today at the BC Legislation Building, and I heard two new terms from BC United:
Safe Supply Addict.
Safe Suppy Pusher.
Tell me you don't know anything about drug users without telling me you don't know anything about drug users.
@ShellyUrquhart
My kids go to readings by people of all walks of life, it honestly surprised me that this was a big deal at all, we just had a free morning.
I grew up in a 1950s bungalow in the 1990s.
It was considered an old home then and worth $50k.
A similar 1950's bungalow in Vancouver sells for over $1.4M
and is 30 years older now.
Why are we living in older depreciating properties for significantly more money?
Tomorrow I'll be at
@DonDavies
office opening rally from 12-2. We share the office so it's my opening rally as well! If you can make it, it's at 5590 Victoria Dr, Vancouver. If you haven't had a chance to meet me or want to come support, come on out!
#Elxn44
#NDP
#VancouverSouth
When tenants are covering your entire mortgage and you've put 20% or less down, you are NOT providing housing. You are preventing your tenants from owning and damaging their generational wealth
I toured a house on the weekend that cost $4500 a month to rent. They didn't mow the lawn, and the existing tenants were visibly upset that people were in their home. It was in the Fraser Valley, and it was run down. Do landlords not even try anymore?
The Nova Scotia election isn't indicative that the Conservatives are particularly strong, the PC's are centrist, it does however mean that people are ready for change. The federal election is short but if the NDP can build a vision for change that resonates we too can make waves.
Pronouns are about respect. If someone has a preference to a particular pronoun it is respectful to use it. It takes little effort and shows some basic decency. If showing basic decency offends you, maybe you aren't a good person.
Hostility has increased between renters and homeowners because homeowners don't have the cash flow to maintain their property purchases without renters, and renters can't afford the rates investors are charging to cover their mortgage.
@answerallman
Technically they can, though people have told us to not hurt their relationship with their landlord they don't feel they can do anything at all.
The idea that parties must oppose each other constantly to force elections in minorities is needlessly polorizing.
Now I would like more than just Pharmacare and a means tested Dental Care - keep their feet to the flame, do more!
But we need to get used to parties cooperating.
@Kerry87183816
UBI needs to be on top of existing programs or it will widen inequality gaps - I fully expect any Liberal push for UBI would be to replace existing programs with it - which is the wrong way to go.