Julianna Beckett

Tenants gained nothing, while the richest Canadians made huge gains. Federal policies that promoted real estate investment—and in emergencies, drove down interest rates—had a huge impact on pushing up the cost of buying a home since 1999. A recently published study showed that: The value of real estate wealth escalated faster than other forms of wealth, … Read more

ACORN Hamilton meets Friday to continue planning its campaign to improve the city’s Housing Emergency Fund. The fund is similar to the Housing Emergency Loan Program that our congregation helped launch in 1999 and which still exists. The city fund provides emergency money to low-income Hamilton tenant households to pay rent or utility arrears and … Read more

Judge’s ground-breaking ruling says discrimination against homeless people violates the Charter; Premier threatens to use “notwithstanding” clause to overrule it An Ontario court judge has rejected a Waterloo Region attempt to evict an encampment from a site where a transit hub is being constructed. And in doing so, Justice Michael Gilson made legal history last … Read more

Many organizations, including the federal housing agency, argue that housing became more expensive because demand exceeded supply. Yet a summary by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows that housing supply has actually grown faster than population for decades, even as prices soared. What drove up those prices was “banking practices that have directed excessive … Read more

CBC has done a great job summarizing just how out-of-reach home-ownership remains. There are fewer and fewer municipalities today where middle-income earners can afford to buy a home, one priced in the bottom fifth of housing prices. The article quotes a study that compared the ratio of starter home prices to incomes of young, dual-income … Read more