Editor,
The affordability crisis has been 20 years in the making and is the result of poor policy at the federal and provincial levels of government, and the Bank of Canada.
It was wonderful that home prices were rising 20% annually, but deep down we all knew that it was unsustainable and with the euphoria wearing off and reality setting in, we find ourselves in an affordability crisis.
The topic du jour is how to make housing affordable, and we even have municipal governments suggesting they become subsidized housing landlords, and that we the taxpayer become the bank!
Why would municipal governments think that they can do this efficiently or economically, if at all. It is not their area of expertise, their mandate, nor their responsibility.
We are all feeling the effects of inflation and high interest rates. This is not the time for our municipal government to burden us with higher taxes to pay for subsidized housing.
The Meaford municipal government admittedly does not have the money to resolve many current needs, so why are they planning to implement a massive and expensive subsidized housing project with no previous experience. Similar projects have had poor records of success and have become financial burdens on the communities that have implemented them.
Finally, how does this fit into the city plan? I have attended numerous meetings discussing the vision for Meaford, and a project such as this was never discussed!
This appears to be a knee jerk reaction, and that seldom turns out well in business or politics.
Real estate listings have begun to rise, rental rates are falling, and the market is correcting. Patience may be the most prudent course of action for the Meaford municipal government.
Gerald Moodie, Meaford
Editor’s Note: For clarification, the municipality isn’t planning to get into subsidized housing, but rather they have asked Grey County, which is responsible for housing, to consider purchasing the former track property for future affordable housing, to which the municipality has offered to contribute $500,000 towards the cost of purchasing the property.
