NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was in Nanaimo Tuesday morning hosting a round table to talk about how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting seniors in the area.
Singh says that there is no balance between the cost of rent and those trying to live on a fixed income.
“People are struggling we heard stories of people they’re spending 60%, 70%, in some cases almost 100% of their income goes towards rent, and they’re left in tears saying, well, what can we do to survive if all of our income is going entirely to rent?” says Singh.
He says part of the solution is to build more housing, however, Singh adds “We need to look at how housing has been made to be an investment for rich investors and not a place for people to call home. If market rent is far more than people are actually earning, how is building more of that going to make people find a place they can afford?”
Singh mentioned that while cost of living is an issue across the country, BC is at least acting at the provincial level to take some of the pressure off but it’s still not enough. Initiatives by the province are not done in partnership with the federal government, that’s a problem according to Singh, “The federal government has not stepped up with the urgency necessary to deal with the price of the problems we are up against.”
