Municipal government shouldn’t be involved in housing
Let’s for the moment assume that everyone has the right to a house and that it is up to the government to provide a house to everyone.
Now we have levels of government tripping over each other to provide this service: federal, provincial and now local. Having so many levels it will likely get messed up worse than it is already, so the local governments need to stay out of the business. We are already taxed to the nines without another level of government being in the mix with funding resolutions to increase taxes on the ballot.
I have heard lots of anecdotal stories of those free houses being trashed by the new owners; not all, but a significant number turn them into the same kind of shape their tent cities are with garbage and damage being done to the provided free housing.
Assuming there is a degree of damage and neglect and maybe lack of skill to own and look after a house, why are we not using the Habitat for Humanity model when providing this free housing? (By the way, nothing is free, the government pays for the housing from money they have already taken from someone else). I do not see any reason why the people getting the new housing should not be involved in the work to create these new houses and having these new homeowners to be involved with the building or renovating of their new homes. Maybe they can learn some of the lessons about home ownership, the care and operation of a house and maybe not turn it into the trash filled tent cities.
It is worth a try. In my view the sense that one needs to contribute in some way to obtain a house from the government and investing some of one’s self in the process may help the appropriate levels of government be more successful in folks being able to look after their new free housing.
Glenn White
Shawnigan Lake