Once seen as an affordable option, housing in Surrey now increasingly out of reach
CBC
Danielle Lafond says Surrey was the city she turned to for affordable housing over a decade ago.
But now, she says she's had to give up her rental, get a roommate and is struggling to make ends meet as the price of housing skyrockets in the city.
"Help us … I'm on disability. I can't afford $1,300 a month. I had to move somebody in with me just so I can afford to live."
Her story is far from unique in Surrey, regarded as one of the fastest-growing cities in North America by population, according to census data. In this city, the housing crisis is biting especially deep as property prices and rents skyrocket.
According to the B.C. Non-profit Housing Association in Surrey, median rents have gone up 65 per cent from October 2013 to October 2022, from about $850 a month to $1,400 a month.
Those working to support affordable housing are now calling on the city to intervene.
Doug Tennant, the CEO of UNITI, a not-for-profit that builds supportive housing, says Surrey needs to immediately remove barriers for not-for-profit housing developers to make it easier to meet the demand for homes.
He says, currently, they're treated the same as private developers and are asked to pay development cost charges — charges that are forgiven or waived in other municipalities.
"Burnaby right now, I'm hearing, is doing fantastic work where they're contributing land, funding, just making things happen. We need to see that in Surrey and other municipalities as well."
The City of Surrey says it supports the provision of market rental units by exempting them from certain charges and cutting costs by reducing the parking requirements on multi-family rental homes.
Affordable housing, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, is defined as a cost no greater than 30 per cent of a household's pre-tax income.
B.C. Non-profit Housing Association CEO Jill Atkey says while urgent work is being done to build affordable market rental housing, it isn't enough.
"A couple of years ago, Surrey's first purpose-built rental building got developed, the first one in 40 or 50 years. And when it opened, there were 2,000 applicants for 90 units.
Since then, it's only gotten worse. As with Lafond's experience, she says stories like this paint a picture of a city where anyone experiencing homelessness or caught in the rental crunch right now will struggle.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a farewell message to Canadians Thursday as he marks his last full day in office.
The Association of Yukon Fire Chiefs says about 80 per cent of volunteer firefighters in the territory are wearing expired protective equipment, putting them in danger and in violation of occupational health and safety regulations when they respond to emergencies.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault will be given a new portfolio in Mark Carney's cabinet, a source with knowledge of the decision told Radio-Canada.
The Alberta government has suspended a loan program at Picture Butte Feeder Cooperative, the province's largest cattle financing cooperative, after an inspection alleged a number of financial mismanagement and regulatory issues.
If you look up at the sky late, late Thursday in the Toronto area, there's a chance you'll be able to see a total lunar eclipse and what's called a blood moon.
When wintertime calls, go where it's warm.
Colby Leamon had lost a close family member, and was looking for a dog to provide emotional support.
The cost of a 24-pack of beer could increase $3 to $5 because of 25 per cent tariffs on aluminum exported to the United States, according to a craft brewery in northern Ontario.
Fire tore through a seafood processing plant in Cape John, N.S., on Wednesday night.
Another of New Brunswick's new municipal councils has become embroiled in drama and bitter conflict.
Tardiness is nothing new at Via Rail, but late arrivals are reaching historic levels in a key corridor since passenger trains have been forced to slow down at hundreds of rail crossings operated by CN Rail.
Walmart Canada will stop selling machetes — a type of weapon frequently used in violent crimes — in stores across the country, after Manitoba's government pressured the retailer to restrict online sales.
The parents of two 15-year-old girls at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon say they went to police and the school multiple times between June and August 2024 with concerns about escalating online threats from the student now accused of setting one of the girls on fire in a school hallway.