It's no secret that BC has some of the highest rents in the world, but what is less well-known is what the government has been doing to tackle the issue. According to Melissa De Genova, not enough.In a statement, the Vancouver city councilor-turned-BC Conservative candidate slammed Premier David Eby and the NDP for failing to deliver on their housing promises, placing the blame for "skyrocketing rents" at the feet of the provincial government."Premier David Eby and the NDP have repeatedly promised affordable housing, yet we continue to see rents soar even in publicly funded projects," De Genova said. "This government has not only failed to make housing affordable but has also misled the public with empty promises. The people of Vancouver-Yaletown and across British Columbia deserve better."She pointed out that while the BC Build program appeared promising, "nothing has changed" despite BC Housing investing $2 billion in the program."People who have been struggling to pay their bills were relying on this government to follow through on their public spin," she continued. "What they got was another failure to deliver and a system so broken that the Eby government has allowed wealthy investors to break the rules and purchase publicly funded housing units under the Affordable Home Ownership Program. Their actions have real consequences as we see more and more people packing up and leaving our province because they can’t afford to live here."De Genova vowed that, under a Conservative government, every British Columbian would have "access to affordable and sustainable housing," adding, "We need housing policies that are based on real solutions, not empty promises."According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, three British Columbian cities are among the top five most expensive to rent in across Canada. Vancouver came in first, with Victoria and Kelowna taking third and fourth place. As of October 2023, the average 2-bedroom apartment in the province's largest city cost $2,181 per month, hundreds higher than other major cities in the country.
