On June 30, Ravenmoon Crocker, Green Party of Canada candidate in the Calgary Heritage by-election, received an eviction notice from her apartment. Her lease ends abruptly on September 30, due to demolition. The new owner's objective is to "update the rental plan for the premises to better reflect the current market due to record high interest rates". Unfortunately, this situation is becoming increasingly common across the country. Affordable locations are being demolished to make way for condos or overpriced apartment buildings. This dynamic is seriously undermining affordability.
"I came home from work on Friday, ready to start the long weekend, and received an eviction notice. I'm terrified. How many times am I going to have to go through this? Will I be able to find another safe, affordable place to live?" said Ravenmoon. “I'm worried about my housing situation as I get older, and I know a lot of people in this country are as worried as I am. I want to work hard to make sure that tenants don't continue to experience this kind of uncertainty. Everyone has the right to safe, stable housing, it's just a matter of having the political will.”
"In the middle of an election campaign, one of our candidates has to deal with the stress generated by an eviction notice from her home. Unfortunately, Ravenmoon's situation is far from unique. Similar gentrification can be observed from coast to coast to coast. Low- and middle-income tenants must be protected from this ruthless real estate market," said Deputy Leader Jonathan Pedneault. “ It’s a market that’s only interested in profit, with no concern whatsoever for people's distress. We need concrete measures to fix this. “
MP Mike Morrice's Motion 71 is in line with this logic.”Across all levels of government, we need urgent action. It’s why as the Member of Parliament for Kitchener Centre, I’ve advocated since elected for the federal government to not only increase its level of investment in quality, dignified, and affordable housing, but to address the underlying conditions that have led us to this crisis. The fact is that homes should be places for people to live, not commodities for corporate investors to profiteer from. We need to change the rules of the market to align with this approach – instead of a market that currently encourages the financial commodification of our homes. “
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Fabrice Lachance Nové
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