OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response a previous letter about the province’s plan to introduce legislation to dismantle homeless encampments.
Rick Lockman was right that housing has become out of reach for too many Canadians. In every city in Canada you will see homeless camps on streets threatening the safety and hygiene of the communities. But, he blames everybody but the reasons for Canada's housing shortage.
Wages have risen, but not at a rate to keep up with deliberate inflationary policies like green energy mandates, green building rules, municipal zoning laws, and massive government overspending. All of these have eroded Canadians purchasing power and lowered living standards. Federal, provincial and municipal governments, not private enterprise imposed these middle class destroying policies on Canadians.
However, nothing has made not only owning a home out of reach, but simply having a roof over one's head more than the irresponsible, completely unsustainable levels of immigration that we have had since the Trudeau regime came to power. This country has the capacity right now to build about 400,000 housing units per year. We are admitting more than three times that many people in actual numbers. Not only does it price average people out of the housing market, it places burdens on health care, education, and infrastructure.
So, blaming companies is a nice slogan. It solves nothing and absolves the real culprits while they double down on the same suicidal policies.
Tim Szukalski
Edmonton
