CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. -- For the past five months, 69-year-old Betty Nicolaye and her family of five have been on a desperate search for housing that has turned empty every time.
鈥淗ouses are selling like hot cakes around here,鈥 she said Thursday after an NDP campaign announcement in Campbell River, B.C. 鈥淥ne application after another, they keep telling us there are 80 people on the list and we never get any calls.鈥
In April, Nicolaye鈥檚 home of five years was sold and since then, she has applied to dozens of rental units but nothing has worked out.
She and her husband are on a pension, her one son has a disability and two others work as janitors. Together they can barely afford a five-bedroom home, which costs approximately $3,000 a month, but Nicolaye said the properties just aren鈥檛 available.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not good. It鈥檚 hard, but it鈥檚 harder being the mom because you are trying to be the tough person,鈥 she said.
According to the latest census, the median income in Nicolaye鈥檚 home riding of North-Island-Powell River is $32,254, below the national average of $34,204. The average rent, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, is pegged at $833 a month.
Knowing she was facing an uphill battle for housing -- the toughest she鈥檚 experienced after 30 years in Campbell River -- Nicolaye bought a 鈥渂eat up motorhome鈥 to provide temporary shelter for her kids, while she and her husband live in a tent. The family pays a dollar each for a shower at a nearby gas station and right now Nicolaye says they are currently living out of their van.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been rough,鈥 she said. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 so cold that you wake up in your bed and the blankets are wet, you don鈥檛 feel warm.鈥
Nicolaye is not alone in her unsuccessful search for housing in British Columbia. A lack of affordable homes and rental properties has been an issue in the province for years.
At an announcement in Campbell River Thursday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh re-committed to building 500,000 affordable homes within 10 years. He also pledged up to $5,000 in annual funding for roughly 500,000 households who are spending at least 30 per cent of their pre-tax income on rent.
鈥淭his will make the difference for families that are unable to pay their bills, for families that are making a tough choice between do they pay for their groceries or do they pay rent," Singh said.
"These are difficult choices that families are making -- far too difficult for far too many families -- and we'll put an end to that."
Nicolaye was at that announcement and said the party鈥檚 pledge would help people like her as long as more properties hit the market. She said she was not brought to the event by the party, but was encouraged to attend by a local Indigenous group.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how anyone can hear that story and not be heartbroken,鈥 Singh told reporters travelling on his campaign bus after meeting her. 鈥淚 think about her and I think that鈥檚 why we need to tackle housing and why we need to build half a million new houses but also why we need to do something immediately because for her, we couldn鈥檛 afford to wait.鈥
A report from the parliamentary budget officer said the current national housing strategy, introduced by the Liberals, would build 150,000 new affordable units, modernize 300,000 existing units and protect 385,000 community housing units.
With files from The Canadian Press
