LETTER: Maple Ridge resident concerned that rental housing not being built

Dear Maple Ridge-Mission MLA Bob D’Eith,

I listened to a radio interview with our premier, David Eby, and I wanted to comment on it. It was on the rental situation in our province.

I agree with the premier’s comments on having to increase the rental stock, (both affordable and market ones) has this is what has caused the problem to begin with. The past 16 years of the B.C. Liberal government’s catering to the needs and wishes of the developers and realtors, in building only condos has created this shortage of rental stock in our cities and province.

And, make no mistake has to why this occurred; it was to satisfy the desires of the developers and realtors, who then scooped up these condo properties so they could speculate on them increasing in value over the coming years.

This speculative market practice only served to increase the profits of this group of greedy and opportunistic individuals, and the bankers, of course. Who has profited from this over-inflated housing market bubble, which is about to burst now, as it did in 2008/09? Bankers, developers, and of course, the realtors in our municipalities.

And, you wonder why our previous mayor and council rushed to approve so many condo projects and not rental housing? Why care about the poor and needy in our cities, when they can make a “killing” on these condo projects?

So, has our current premier tried to explain, it will take time to reverse and rectify the damage done through the previous years of neglect by the B.C. Liberal’s and their developer/realtor friends.

What is so amazing is how ignorant the vast majority of the population are on how this has happened, and who it is that is to blame for the thousands of our Canadian citizens who can’t find affordable housing these days.

These things do not just happen; they’re orchestrated by the right-wing politicians and their corporate supporters. They’re well planned agendas to which they and their various groups, i.e. the rich developers/realtors, profit immensely. Meanwhile other sectors of the population; namely the poor and others of low income pay the price and suffer tremendously.

Well, as Milton Friedman tries to justify their insatiable greed, “these are the neighbourhood costs” which must be born so that the rich can increase their riches, while other suffer in poverty.

Yeah, thanks so much Milton for your so-called words of “wisdom,” in which you try and justify your pathological greed for you and your rich friends. If there is a place called hell, I’m sure you’ll have reserved your spot in it along with your other predatory capitalist exploiters on this planet who cause so much suffering for others.

John E. McKenzie, Maple Ridge

CC Lisa Beare, MLA Pitt Meadows

and Dan Ruimy, mayor, Maple Ridge

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