In case you haven’t heard, David Eby is running to be the next premier of British Columbia, and there’s a buzz of excitement from commentators about what that could mean for BC’s housing unaffordability policies. But does Eby’s record and proposals match the progressive veneer he’s cultivated for himself?

They say you can’t fight city hall - but in the wake of the 2018 municipal elections, our newly formed tenants union took an aggressive tack to do just that - to bring tenant voices and tenant-centred policies into Vancouver’s city hall and to test a new politically fractured council.

The following article was researched and written by member Dianne Varga, an organizer and life-long tenant currently living on the unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation.

Background:

It’s been three years since the provincial government’s Rental Housing Task Force delivered their report calling to “Stop Renovictions”. Since then, the government has been slow to make this happen.

As pandemic-era eviction bans have expired in jurisdictions all around the world, tenants who have been unable to pay rent during a time of crisis are getting evicted en-masse.

The B.C. government allowed evictions to resume back in September 2020, attached to a requirement that landlords must offer tenants a punishing 10-month repayment schedule for their rent debt. VTU members have demanded that the eviction ban remain in place for the duration of the pandemic - allowing people to lose their homes during this time is inhumane and dangerous for public health.

***For Immediate Release***

January 28, 2021

We beat the developer and put a fighting spirit back into the Union

Eight demovicted tenants at 326 Nanaimo St. fought to get the relocation they were promised by the City of Vancouver, with the organizing help of VTU, and support of the broader community. 

A Perspective from a Renovicted Tenant Who Qualifies for TRPP

Five months after the disappointing Rental Housing Task Force report, the provincial government is still dragging its heels on action against renovictions and other tenant protections.