Latest news with #Coquitlam
CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
Home construction must double over next decade to restore 2019 affordability: CMHC
Cranes are seen above a condo development and other housing projects under construction, in Coquitlam, B.C., on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says up to 4.8 million new homes will need to be built over the next decade to restore affordability levels last seen in 2019 based on projected demand. The national housing agency released its latest supply gaps estimate report on Thursday, which said between 430,000 and 480,000 new housing units are needed per year across the ownership and rental markets by 2035. That would represent around double the current pace of home construction in Canada. A total of 90,760 housing starts have been recorded so far this year through May, and CMHC projects an average of 245,000 starts annually over the next 10 years under current conditions. 'Doubling the pace of housing construction in Canada is achievable, but not without a significantly larger and modernized workforce, more private investment, less regulation, fewer delays, and lower development costs,' said CMHC deputy chief economist Aled ab Iorwerth in a press release. 'It will also require significant innovation in construction technology and growth in labour productivity.' In 2023, the agency estimated Canada would need to build an additional 3.5 million housing units by 2030, on top of 2.3 million that were already projected to be built by that year, to reach affordability levels seen in 2004. In its latest report, CMHC said that timeline 'is no longer realistic,' especially after the post-pandemic price surge seen across the housing market. 'COVID-19 significantly changed the affordability landscape across the country,' the report said. 'As a result, we're changing our aspiration to restoring affordability to levels seen just before the pandemic. This change also highlights how widespread the housing affordability challenge has become across Canada.' The agency defines affordability as the amount of income that goes toward housing. In general, it aims to return to levels of affordability at which adjusted house prices are no higher than 30 per cent of average gross household income. But that ratio is projected to reach 52.7 per cent by 2035 in a 'business-as-usual' scenario, up from 40.3 per cent in 2019. Doubling projected housing starts over the next decade would bring the figure down to 41.1 per cent of income being allocated for homebuying nationally, according to the agency. During the federal election campaign, the Liberals promised to double the rate of residential construction over the next decade to reach 500,000 homes per year. The plan emphasized scaling up prefabricated housing construction. It said a new entity called Build Canada Homes would provide $25 billion in debt financing and $1 billion in equity financing to prefabricated homebuilders to reduce construction times by up to 50 per cent. Returning to 2019 affordability levels in the next decade would lead to house prices being roughly one-quarter lower than where they would otherwise be in 2035, the CMHC's report added. Average rents would also be about five per cent lower. The report included regional breakdowns, which show Ontario, Nova Scotia and B.C. have the most significant housing supply gaps by province. Montreal faces the largest gap of any major city, where home ownership costs have also risen faster than other regions in recent years, followed by Ottawa, where CMHC said new supply has not kept pace with increased housing demand. In Toronto, despite increased rental construction in recent years, the region is lacking home ownership options that match local incomes, and CMHC estimated a 70 per cent increase in homebuilding over the next decade would help to improve affordability issues. For Vancouver, it said an estimated 7,200 additional homes are needed annually above the 'business-as-usual' scenario, an increase of 29 per cent. It estimated Calgary, which has seen record levels of home construction for three straight years, will need 45 per cent more new homes annually. Meanwhile, no additional supply is required beyond what is currently projected in Edmonton, as sufficient market housing is expected to be built in the region to maintain affordability by 2035. --- Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025.
CTV News
11-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
B.C. landlord took too long to replace carpets after eviction, must pay tenants $36K: court
Rolls of carpet are seen in this file photo. ( A B.C. landlord who evicted his tenants so he and his son could move into their unit, then spent two-and-a-half months replacing the carpet before moving in, will have to pay the evicted tenants more than $36,000. Harjinder Bhangal issued an eviction notice to Louis and Mary DeSousa on Dec. 31, 2021, according to a B.C. Supreme Court decision on the case issued last week. The purpose of the eviction was to allow Bhangal and his son to move into the apartment, which is described in the decision as the 'upper portion' of a house in Coquitlam. Under B.C.'s Residential Tenancy Act, a landlord can issue a notice to end tenancy if they or a 'close family member' intend to occupy the unit. The law requires the landlord to act in good faith, and to live in the home for a specified minimum period before renting it out again. At the time of the DeSousas' eviction, that minimum period was six months. The person moving into the property must also do so 'within a reasonable period,' unless there are extenuating circumstances that prevent them from doing so. If the landlord or their close family member doesn't move into the property within a reasonable amount of time or doesn't live there for the minimum period required, the landlord can be ordered to pay the evicted tenant an amount equal to 12 months of their former rent. In this case, the DeSousas moved out on April 30, 2022. Rather than moving in right away, however, Bhangal replaced the carpet in the unit, a process that took until mid-July, according to the court decision. It was only after the carpet replacement was finished that Bhangal and his son moved into the home. The tenants took Bhangal to B.C.'s Residential Tenancy Branch, arguing that he had failed to complete the stated purpose of the eviction within a reasonable amount of time. The RTB arbitrator who heard the case agreed, ordering Bhangal to pay the DeSousas $36,100, representing 12 months' worth of their $3,000-a-month rent, plus the tenants' $100 RTB filing fee. The landlord took the case to the B.C. Supreme Court for judicial review, arguing that the arbitrator had disregarded relevant evidence and had given inadequate reasons for his decision. Justice Sheila Tucker rejected Bhangal's arguments, ruling that the RTB arbitrator had considered all the evidence and given adequate reasons. The landlord told the court he had installed the carpet himself, and that he was busy with other work during the period when it was installed. He also blamed COVID-19-related restrictions and construction industry shortages for contributing to the delay. While Bhangal argued that the RTB arbitrator had ignored or given insufficient weight to these considerations, Tucker found the arbitrator's decision 'rational, transparent and adequate.' 'It is plainly evident that the arbitrator considered a period of two and a half months – or some 75 days – to generally be too long to be explained by carpet replacement per se,' Tucker's decision reads. 'Accordingly, the arbitrator reviewed the landlord's evidence to see if difficulties in completing the carpet replacement had been established. He concluded that the landlord did assert that there had been difficulties, but found the evidence of those difficulties to be too vague and non-specific to explain the length of the move in period.' The judge dismissed the landlord's petition, allowing the RTB decision and its $36,100 award to the DeSousas to stand.
CTV News
25-05-2025
- CTV News
Second annual jamboree remembers slain RCMP officer in Maple Ridge, B.C.
Family and the forces came together for the second Rick O'Brien Joint Forces Jamboree in Maple Ridge on Saturday. Police officers and local kids took to the hockey field to commemorate RCMP Const. Rick O'Brien Saturday, at an event in Maple Ridge, B.C., that celebrated all the things the late officer loved most. The second annual Rick O'Brien Joint Forces Jamboree kicked off at the Planet Ice and the Albion Fairgrounds at 9:30 a.m. and saw crowds linger long into the afternoon to pay their respects to their lost neighbour and friend. 'Rick was just the most amazing guy,' said Nicole Longacre-O'Brien, who initiated the annual event last year to honour her late husband. 'He was a great officer, and the community lost a really big person that really wanted to make a difference in this world. So this is for him. This is for everybody to know him and for everybody to remember him.' The 51-year-old Maple Ridge RCMP officer was fatally shot Sept. 22, 2023, while executing a search warrant in Coquitlam. Throughout his service he was known for his efforts protecting and supporting the local youth, a service Longacre-O'Brien said she hopes to continue in his name via the jamboree. New events were brought in for the second iteration of the event, including a sporting competition with Special Olympics B.C. and a 'mindful moment' event regarding mental health care. Alongside the annual hockey tournament, which saw 20 teams take part, the event hosted a 'Guns N' Hoses' face-off game between police officers and firefighters, an ice-skating zone, bouncy castles, face painting and food trucks. Creating an event that would break down barriers and foster relationships between law enforcement and youth had always been O'Brien's vision, said Longacre-O'Brien. 'He was definitely one of those officers that loved – and took the time to deal directly with – the kids. He just had something special. He was approachable.' Longacre-O'Brien, describing her late husband as 'really, just a big kid himself,' said the jamboree was in place to remember him while still spreading 'love and positivity.' 'It's all about loving each other, coming together. We see people behind the uniforms, and the kids just get to just be kids,' she said. 'There's no division between anybody. It's just about allowing everybody to be themselves and to enjoy time together and have fun.'
CBC
22-05-2025
- CBC
RCMP leader accused suspended Coquitlam officers of mounting 'campaign of hate'
The head of Coquitlam's RCMP detachment accused three of his officers of waging "a campaign of hate" in an email sent to staff earlier this year after one of the Mounties defended himself at a code of conduct hearing into allegations of homophobia, racism and sexism. In a detachment-wide message sent the morning after Const. Ian Solven appeared to blame the pressures of policing for his derogatory posts to chat groups, Supt. Darren Carr said he wanted to "share his feelings" about proceedings he said he found "extremely difficult to watch." In the email, titled 'MUST READ — CONDUCT HEARING,' Carr wrote that listening to "highly offensive, hurtful and degrading pejoratives used to belittle our colleagues and members of the public" brought on "a broad range of feelings." "But the most salient emotion has been anger, anger borne out of watching sworn members openly engage in racism, homophobia, sexism and misogyny," Carr wrote in the email, which CBC obtained through a federal Access to Information request. "What has been even more infuriating has been watching testimony that has attempted largely to justify their actions," he continued. "I want to be very clear that while we are all capable at times of being insensitive or clumsy, the actions of these members can only be characterized as a campaign of hate, designed to hurt and divide." 'Tasering unarmed Black people' Along with constables Philip Dick and Mersad Mesbah, Solven is facing dismissal for a series of posts to a private chat on the Signal app and messages sent over the RCMP's internal mobile data messaging system. All three have been suspended since June 2021. According to a copy of a search warrant obtained by CBC, the officers are accused of a wide variety of slurs and insults, including bragging about "Tasering unarmed Black people," calling a sexual assault investigation "stupid," and mocking the bodies of female colleagues. The hearing into the allegations broke abruptly after just a few days in early March following news of Carr's email — which Solven's lawyer called "inflammatory" — and the 11th-hour surfacing of a witness expected to contradict the impugned officer's testimony. At the time, Solven's lawyer called the email "highly problematic," accusing RCMP brass of intimidating defence witnesses who work at the Coquitlam detachment and had yet to testify. The email has since become part of the basis for an application to stay the proceedings due to abuse of process stemming from alleged interference in the proceedings. The code of conduct board has yet to rule on the application. While an RCMP spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that the code of conduct hearing is still active, no new dates have been posted, and there is no information about the progress of any proceedings out of public view. A 'crystal clear' followup email The initial email was sent from Carr's account but signed "warmly" from all seven members of the Coquitlam RCMP's senior leadership team. The documents released to the CBC include a followup email sent the following afternoon "to clarify" Carr's original missive. "I want to be crystal clear and leave no doubt that my email was in no way intended to influence or prejudge the outcome of the independent conduct hearing process," Carr wrote in the second email. "The subject members have the right to fully defend themselves, and no one should feel pressured or unduly influenced in any way in deciding whether to testify as a witness in the matter, or in the content of their testimony." According to court documents, the allegations against Solven, Dick and Mesbah came to light after one of their fellow officers complained about what he saw as "atrocious" and "racist and horrible" activity by his colleagues. Investigators reviewed posts to the Signal chat group as well as 600,000 messages posted to the RCMP's internal chat logs — finding evidence of "frequently offensive" usage by the three officers facing termination for "homophobic and racist slurs." "The reviewers had identified a variety of comments that were 'chauvinist in nature, with a strong air of superiority, and include flippant or insulting remarks about clients (including objectifying women), supervisors, colleagues, policy and the RCMP as a whole,'" the search warrant said. 'Not representative of the Coquitlam detachment' During his testimony, Solven became emotional, choking back tears as he described what he claimed were examples of management ignoring the concerns of front-line police officers who then took their frustrations to what they assumed would remain a private chat group. "It was definitely a space where we felt comfortable that we could vent our frustrations about our job and about our co-workers," he said. "In a space that was safe." Solven claimed the posts were taken out of context and "not who I am as a person." He also insisted he apologized to a female officer for joking about her weight — a claim she almost immediately challenged, contacting supervisors in the hours after Solven's testimony, claiming he "outright lied in his evidence," according to a lawyer for the RCMP. Carr's initial email said the proceedings and associated media coverage had "re-triggered" members of the detachment, noting that "being a police officer is a privilege, not a right, and it is vitally important that we maintain the trust of the public whom we serve."
CBC
08-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
B.C. diaspora hopes for peace amid rising India-Pakistan tensions
Social Sharing British Columbians with ties to India and Pakistan are expressing concern after India fired missiles on Pakistani-controlled areas Wednesday, stoking ongoing tensions between the two countries. Pakistan said at least 26 people died in the missile strikes, and both countries said they suffered casualties in ensuing artillery exchanges along the Line of Control — which separates India and Pakistan in the contested Kashmir region. Jatinder Bhan, who emigrated from Kashmir decades ago, says he is trying to understand the violence in the region. "We're hopeful that someday, peace will reign in the area and that we are able to, with the respect, go back and live peacefully with our other members of the community," said the Coquitlam, B.C., resident. WATCH | Pakistan calls India's strikes an 'act of war': Pakistan calls India's strikes an 'act of war,' vows retaliation 15 hours ago Duration 3:31 Similar sentiments were expressed at a Hindu temple in Surrey following the escalation of violence between the two countries. Vinay Sharma, secretary of the Vedic Hindu Cultural Society of B.C., says he is praying for peace. "In Hinduism ... we are taught that the entire world is our family," Sharma said. "So we are worried for each and every person who lives in India or anywhere else. And we do not want any killings, we do not want any war." India-Pakistan tensions have been elevated since an attack on April 22 in Indian-administered Kashmir, where gunmen killed 26 people, most of them Indian Hindu tourists. Indian officials have blamed Pakistan for backing the gunmen — a charge denied by Islamabad — and said the latest missile strikes were a retaliation for the April massacre. The April attack took place in the part of the Kashmir region that is controlled by India but claimed by Pakistan. Kashmir, which is divided between the two countries but claimed in its entirety by each, has been at the centre of tensions for decades, including two wars. Haroon Khan, a director with the Pakistan-Canada Association and the Al Jamia Masjid mosque in Vancouver, says he hopes the international community works toward de-escalating tensions between the two countries. He says members of the local South Asian diaspora are concerned about the conflict, and it's important to remember "that we're all friends and neighbours here." "There is no place for any escalation among our own communities.... Here it's important to keep the peace and also work towards a fair and just peace for all people," Khan said.
