DSOV Launches Housing For All Campaign
About 50 people showed up on Wednesday afternoon at the corner of 33rd and Ontario to speak at and partake in the DSOV’s first Housing For All action. The rally was held at the former site of the Little Mountain Social Housing. Built in the 1950s as BC’s first social housing project using federal government money, the 224 units housed almost 700 people.
In 2007 the BC government evicted the tenants, and sold the land. A recent release of the original contract between the BC Government and developers (The Holborn Group) reveals the developer bought the property using a $211 million taxpayer-funded loan wth no interest for 18 years.
In 2015, Holborn built one building with 54 units of “social housing”; however, most of the site continues to sit empty as the land appreciates in value in the middle of a housing crisis. Holborn’s eventual stated plan is to build market condos on most of the rest of the site the contract reveals that there is no requirement for Holborn to build any housing, social or otherwise.
After the speeches, some of the attendees took down the signs and marched with them onto the empty grounds of the Little Mountain Social Housing Site through a hole in the fence.
The DSOV’s action was MC’d by Stephanie Langford
OPENING SPEECH, STEPHANIE LANGFORD
This is both a press conference and a rally. We are in a federal election where housing affordability is on everyone’s minds.
Maybe you are an ally of renters and coop members because you own the property where you live. Thank you for being here with those of us who are renters or who live in coop buildings. What does justice for renters in BC look like?
We stand at this place of profound struggle (15.2 acres) because what is behind me is land currently owned by Holborn Holdings, a nefarious real estate development company owned by the Tiah family with global financial holdings and companies.
The current history of this piece of land – stolen from the Musqueam people in 1794 – can be dated back to the City of Vancouver assembling the site in the 1940s and then offering it up as a federally funded public housing project. The CMHC owned the site from 1954 until 2007 when it was sold to the provincial gov’t. During that time 37 buildings were built with 224 family units housing over 700 tenants. Then in 2008 the Liberal provincial gov’t at the time sold it to a private development company Holborn holding and the original tenants (families) were evicted and the buildings were demolished. The terms of this sale were finally just revealed through freedom of information requests.
Under pressure in 2015 Holborn built 53 new units but the land has been effectively vacant since 2008.
The history of this land – since it was first stolen from the Musqueam FN – is a travesty of huge proportions. The City of Vancouver says it has learned from this housing fiasco but has it. The current provincial government says it wasn’t their fault and what can they do now? Oh my. There are many levels of government to blame and who has been accountable so far. None so far.
The speakers that will follow will share more about the history of this housing struggle and how it is an exemplar of a housing landscape that is very very corrupt. There is a great deal of blame and anger to go around – the city for allowing tenants to be evicted and buildings demolished in 2007, the province tor selling the land to a private developer and the federal gov’t for never living up to its housing promises.
As the following speakers will declare we demand that much much more affordable (to income) housing be constructed now – at least 5,000 units per year, and also the public acquisition of at least 2,500 units per year of rental housing. These are just a few of our demands and I will hand over the mic to our first speaker.
❉ ❉ ❉ ❉
Rally speakers included Derrick O’Keefe (DSoV); Don Davies (NDP candidate for Vancouver Kingsway and MP since 2008); Anjali Appadurai (NDP candidate for Vancouver Granville); Jean Swanson (Vancouver City Councillor); and Doug McCorquodale (Vancouver Ecosocialists); John Irwin (Vancouver Park Commissioner); Laura Stannard (long-time housing activist and the former lead organizer for the citywide housing coalition); Local accordion player and singer Geoff Berner performed a Woody Guthrie song. A statement from Vancouver City Councillor Christine Boyle, who could not attend, was read.
A Housing For All banner and placards were created by local artist Deirdriu Ní Cheocháin (Deer draw). Another local artist, Maddy Andrews, created an effigy of former BC Liberal Housing Minister Rich Coleman.
❉ ❉ ❉ ❉
Resources
The Little Mountain Project →
Official website of the upcoming documentary series: THE HOUSING GAMES and ongoing observation of the consequences of the destruction of the low income housing community known as the Little Mountain Housing Project.
Vancouver Little Mountain Housing contract of sale →