Article contentHousing crisisArticle contentBrett said more people are looking for housing than what’s available, and the issue is being compounded by a few factors. She thinks immigration is one of them.Article contentBrett has looked at announcements from NL Health Services (NLHS) about bringing in internationally trained nurses.Article contentAt one point, she said, 200 had been brought in, and NLHS was recruiting another 600, and those positions were in addition to travel nurses that were being used.Article content“So, you’ve got upwards of 1,000 people coming into our province. These 1,000 people need a place to live. So, you either build them a place or they’re going to take up the units that are already available,” said Brett.Article contentArticle content“Then there were Ukrainian refugees brought in, and I open my arms for them, but you can’t bring in almost another 3,000 people and not build housing for them.”Article contentBrett said former immigration minister, Gerry Byrne, has said it’s not immigration that’s causing the housing crisis.Article content“Well, you know what, it might not be the cause, but it certainly is impacting it,” said Brett.Article contentShe added that the people coming in often receive housing subsidies.Article content“And now these rental units are not available for people like myself,” she said.Article content“The government is responsible for bringing in upwards of 4,000 people and they have not done anything to build apartments, build housing complexes, even initiatives for the construction companies to get out there and build more.”Article contentShe said anything they have done is just not filling the needs.Article contentBrett feels that government is very fragmented when it comes to housing issues.Article content“You’ve got the minister of housing and the minister of immigration, and the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.Article content“They need to come together on this. They need to co-ordinate better. If the minister of Immigration is going to bring in 3,000 people, the minister of Housing better do something to put them somewhere,” she said.Article content“It’s all supply and demand and right now the supply is low, and the demand is high.”Article contentArticle contentArticle contentAn election issueArticle contentBrett has been trying to raise the issue with the leaders of the Liberal, PC and NDP parties as they campaign for the Oct. 14 provincial election.Article contentShe’s sent emails to John Hogan, Tony Wakeham and John Dinn multiple times without a response. She’s even posted about it on Facebook.Article contentShe said the government needs to stop subsidizing rent as it’s only driving rental rates up and it also needs to crack down on short-term rental properties that are not registered.Article contentThose are minor things, she said, the big thing is to build.Article content“We need more structures. We need things built. I don’t see any other solution,” she added.Article contentAnd she doesn’t just mean Newfoundland and Labador Housing building low-income housing — there is some of that happening in the city — or private developments, like several that are underway, that are geared towards seniors.
LPN who struggled to find a rental says its time for NL government to act on housing crisis
