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Record created: 04:53:22 PM on Tuesday, July 10, 2007.
Updated: 05:03:10 PM on Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Page generated at: 03:48:01 PM on Friday, July 30, 2010
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Dear,
My name is _ and I am a concerned constituent of your riding. From my perspective, the recent government response to the Alberta housing crisis falls short of achieving actual results for Albertans.
Statistics indicate that there is currently a 12 000 unit shortage of housing across the province. The commitment to providing only 11 000 units over the next five years clearly fails to meet the province's need in this regard. I would point out that one of the promises Premier Stelmach made when running for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party was to deal with this housing crisis.
By ignoring the government's own Affordable Housing Task Force recommendations, an opportunity to give more than lip service to the “Alberta Advantage” was missed. By failing to implement temporary rent controls, refusing to call a moratorium on condo conversions and neglecting to create an Alberta Housing Plan, many more Albertans will become homeless.
These are the financial realities of living in Alberta:
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a person working full time at Alberta's minimum wage of $7.00 per hour can only afford housing costs of $324 per month.
A one bedroom apartment in Calgary cost an average of $856.
From 1992 through 2006, for every $1,000 increase in housing prices, 51 more people in Calgary became homeless. (City of Calgary, Corporate Economics and Geodemographics, 2007)
There are an estimated 16 000 homeless people in Calgary. (City of Calgary, Community and Neighbourhood Services, 2007)
Clearly, again from my perspective, if your government believes the measures it has taken will solve the housing crisis, it fails to understand the magnitude of the problem. We would ask you to revisit some of the decisions made by your government and attempt to create more tangible solutions for Albertans who are faced with the daily challenge of finding a place to live. Please remember, housing is a provincial government responsibility.
Sincerely,
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