Section B: Housing — Continued

Strategic Context

Vision, Mission and Values

Vision

Safe and stable housing for all British Columbians.

Mission

To provide leadership in meeting the housing needs of all British Columbians by enabling a range of housing choices.

Values

The Housing Department is an organization guided by the following values:

• We value the importance of housing as a home — the foundation on which to build a healthy life and a sustainable community.
• We value innovation and excellence in the work we do and are accountable to ourselves and ultimately to the citizens of British Columbia.
• We value strong working relationships built on open communication and shared understanding that inspires trust and confidence.
• We value integrated services and partnerships that optimize resources and improve the well being of our clients and stakeholders.
• We value the people we work with and the people we serve, respecting diversity and treating everyone fairly and with dignity.

Planning Context and Key Strategic Issues

Housing need and the provincial government's response can be viewed as a continuum. At one end are people who cannot house themselves without some form of government assistance. At the other end are people who can adequately house themselves in the private housing market. The continuum spans low- to high-income, homelessness to homeownership, dependence to self-sufficiency. Government housing assistance is strategically designed to promote movement towards self-sufficiency and homeownership. Underlying the continuum are foundational elements including the BC Building Code, the Homeowner Protection Act and the Residential Tenancy Act. These governing elements contribute to consumer protection and the safety and stability of our housing.

The vast majority of British Columbians are housed successfully in BC's private housing market. According to BC Stats, approximately 36 per cent of BC households are renters and 64 per cent are homeowners. Even with the rising cost of renting and homeownership in BC's larger urban centres, the private market is adequately meeting the housing need of approximately 85 per cent of BC's population.

For the remaining 15 per cent however, housing need is very real and the challenges to address that need are significant.

• According to the June 2005 RBC Financial Group's Housing Affordability Study, housing in some areas of BC is the most expensive in the country, and the gap between what people are earning and the cost of housing is growing. Greater Vancouver has the highest prices and worst affordability index in Canada. Creeping interest rates and scarcity of land are factors in making home ownership too costly for the average family. The affordability issue is forecast to worsen.
• BC's current building boom, coupled with an aging workforce, is resulting in a shortage of skilled labour in the housing and construction sectors. This has an impact on the cost of construction and ultimately housing affordability.
• Recent counts of homeless populations in Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna and the Fraser Valley suggest the number of homeless is increasing. Families and the "working poor" have joined people with mental illness and addictions evident in the homeless populations.
• Demographic trends point to a growing seniors population with fixed incomes and a need for housing with supports. The number of senior-led households is expected to increase by over 60 per cent from 246,000 in 2001 to 397,418 by 2021 based on estimates published by BC Stats under P.E.O.P.L.E Projection 29.
• Very few new rental units are being built in the private market, and those that are, do not fall into the affordable housing category. CMHC reports only 934 purpose-built rental housing units under construction in BC in 2004.

These are the challenges that the new Housing Department is tasked with addressing. Its mandate is to provide leadership in housing and to develop and implement a comprehensive provincial housing strategy. To achieve this mandate, the integration of services and the building of partnerships with local and federal governments and with the private and non-profit sectors are paramount to success.