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Letter: Financing supportive units is a tricky business

One Langford resident is questioning the math behind the regional housing strategy

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps may have great vision and a realistic plan to tackle the homeless pandemic in Victoria by asking the Capital Regional District to borrow millions over the next 15 years. It’s much like taking out a mortgage to buy a house only it might involve multiple financiers instead of one.

There are, however, some slight flaws in her plan, which she has somehow worked the interest expense, after deducting revenue from welfare’s meagre shelter allowance, to cost each household the price of three lattes, as she says.

In lieu of raising everyone’s taxes $30 to $60 a year, hopefully the CRD can put their $400 million budget under scrutiny and redirect some of it to paying down this mortgage if they do vote to borrow and find financiers.

However, there is another slight issue Lisa Helps might not have thought of. What if the provincial government does not cough up the $7 million-plus she says it would cost to run the supportive housing units?

Andre Mollon

Langford