Editor:
Re: Shelters open for winter, Dec. 12.
As a longtime non-market-rate apartment renter, I fear one day losing my own residence through eviction by reason of renovation – a.k.a. “renoviction” – a means by which large real-estate owners can become considerably wealthier by replacing non-market-rate rental units with big-bucks condos.
The renoviction epicentre, Vancouver’s West End, got well underway about a decade ago; it’s been slowly creeping outward since.
Where can a renter there possibly go to afford non-market-rate rental shelter, except into the outlining suburbs, until they’re eventually driven to the still-barely-affordable GVRD outskirts or beyond?
With the renoviction infection spreading outwards from its ground-zero, ‘non-profit’ coupled with ‘supportive housing’ are as crucial as ever for the shelter-survival of the poorest folk.
Frank G. Sterle, Jr., White Rock