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New West on board with housing plan

Mayor Wayne Wright sits as co-chair of national coalition looking at rental housing

New Westminster's mayor is a founding member of a coalition that's been creating a Canadian Rental Housing Coalition Charter.

A coalition of industry, non-profit and government leaders recently signed a Canadian Rental Housing Coalition Charter, which outlines a nine-point plan to increase the supply of affordable rental housing across the nation.

The founding members of the coalition envision a future where there is a sufficient supply of adequate, safe, secure and affordable rental housing for people with a range of incomes.

"It's pretty exciting," said New Westminster Mayor Wayne Wright, coalition co-chair and chair of the Metro Vancouver housing committee. "It is the first time there has ever been a coalition."

Wright said the coalition is calling on all levels of government, the private sector and the non-profit sector to work collaboratively to address the critical supply shortage of affordable rental housing.

He said there was considerable interest in the charter from officials across Canada when he discussed it at a housing conference in the summer.

"The economic importance of affordable rental housing in this country cannot be overstated," said Maureen Enser, coalition co-chair and executive director of the Urban Development Institute. "New rental construction creates vital, well-paid jobs and sufficient supply is intrinsically linked to business investment and location decisions."

The Canadian Rental Housing Coalition Charter states that affordable rental housing includes purpose-built market, nonprofit and co-op housing.

It also states that rental building construction has significant, long-term economic benefits for the local, regional, provincial and national companies, and a sufficient supply of affordable workforce rental housing is intrinsically linked to business investment and location decisions.

"Renters are struggling to find good quality rental housing in major cities across Canada," said Nicky Dunlop, executive director of the Tenants Resource and Advisory Centre. "In Vancouver, people are being forced into inadequate housing, often in need of significant repairs, and experiencing frequent moves. All of this is destabilizing for families and individuals."

For more information about the charter, visit www.rentalcoalition.org.

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