iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Spot on. 👇 “I would also say, however, that focusing on immigrants is an easy way, to be totally frank, to turn the attention away from deep structural problems such as a lack of affordable housing," Irene Bloemraad said. www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/business/exp...

thecanadianpressnews.ca

Expert 'taken aback' by Eby foreign worker claims, says axing program won't fix woes

VICTORIA - Ending the temporary foreign worker program won't solve "deep structural problems" with housing and other issues in British Columbia, while it would create "problematic consequences" for la...

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

Hang on. I can build a detached house anywhere even if it doesn’t suit the character of the neighbourhood?! 😉

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

It's not strong logic, but at least slightly more logical than any other interpretation in this head scratching decision. And yes, it's difficult not to read more into the decision.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

When something defies any definition of logic, people are left to wonder if there might be some other reason for opposing these homes. 🤔

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

With respect, something is very broken if this statement carries any logic. Somehow there is municipal revenue to be gained by paying $40K per stall to construct unused parking? Also, municipal and provincial taxpayers are the same people. And don’t get me started on the cost of homelessness.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

I don’t think I’ll ever understand why people hate housing so much.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Reversing course on the Arbutus supportive housing development isn't a surprise given Council's actions in recent months. Here were the Mayor's words in January. If this actually the plan, it would seem appropriate for the City to double down on supportive housing city-wide. So what is the plan?

On updating the Downtown Eastside Area Plan, the Mayor said: "this allows for the integration of the DTES neighbourhood into Vancouver's broader community, ensuring a more balanced, supportive environment for residents, businesses, and visitors."

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

If there is a lot more building going on and we continue to scale back on immigration targets the real pinch point for housing will be in construction labour. Skilled trades and training investments will be vital. We can expect a Liberal government with a new mandate to double down here.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

I’m not sure what their plans are for the Housing Accelerator Fund, but this may be a more direct way of getting funds to municipalities. If they end up moving away from the Accelerator Fund, expect the work that municipalities have been doing with these dollars to stop midstream.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Development cost charges will come down. The big question with these charges is who will pay for necessary infrastructure. The Liberal platform cracks this nut with a commitment to making municipalities whole for the five years that these charges are reduced.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

$25B in financing for prefabricated home builders in Canada: a focus on Canadian technologies and resources is critical given the existential threat we face, and the pre-fab industry will invest in itself if they have certainty in their pipeline. This has the potential to help with scale.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

The loss of these incentives in the 1980s were a key ingredient for the rental housing crisis we see today. We’ve seen incentives in other forms over the last decade, but these are likely to be helpful nonetheless.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

The Liberals have committed to reintroducing incentives for purpose built rental and this is a good way of supporting the private sector to help government achieve its goals.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

I’d feel better about this commitment if non-profit and co-op housing providers were at the centre of it. The Federal government has increasingly been opening up their programs to the private sector with no protections for long-term affordability. This is where the NDP/GR/BQ can push the Liberals.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

$10B in low-cost financing and capital for affordable homes. A few thoughts on this one: The ratio of financing and capital is going to matter a lot. Financing matters, but it’s the capital that creates affordability on new projects. A look at what brings down rents on this project in Delta:

A bar graph and description showing that break-even rents for a new development are $1949 per month. Federal/provincial capital contributions totaling almost $11.5M and an annual operating subsidy bring the rents down to $1307 per month.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

A Federal government that’s in the business of building homes for the first time in generations. Big ticket commitments are critical to solving the crisis, but getting this machine up, running, and making a noticeable impact will take time. That time will be measured in years not months.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Well that was a night 🫣 With the election now behind us, we now have some clarity and as always, new questions about how Federal housing policy will shape up in the years ahead. Some thoughts on what a new Liberal government will mean for housing: 👇

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Great news from Penticton! City council unanimously approved 10-year property tax exemptions on non-profit housing. Actions like these help reduce rents in new and existing affordable housing developments. 👍 pub-penticton.escribemeetings.com/filestream.a...

pub-penticton.escribemeetings.com

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Another building and 25 affordable homes move into the non-profit housing sector, where affordability can be protected in perpetuity. Congratulations Connective Support Society, @rentalprofund.bsky.social and the Province of BC 😃 cfjctoday.com/2025/04/23/c...

cfjctoday.com

Connective Support Society with assistance from province and Rental Protection Fund help preserve 25 units of affordable housing

KAMLOOPS - Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon was in Kamloops on Wednesday to announce the safeguarding of affordabl...

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

“After all, isn’t it precisely when the world feels out of control that our need for the safety and security of home is felt most acutely?”

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

And that was just the first night!

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

I’ll miss your stories, but already looking forward to your next book. Congratulations Chris!

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Semi-regular reminder from someone who sat through another five hour public hearing on affordable housing last night: No matter where you live or what type of housing you live in, people opposed your home before it was built.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

The biggest miss in Budget 2025 is the continuing failure to commit to a fully funded Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy. Housing Central partners urge the provincial government to take immediate action to address this glaring omission.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

If ever there was a time to eliminate the nearly $1B Homeowner's Grant it would be now. Those dollars could be far more productive if invested into non-profit and co-op housing development. This is what we want to be doubling down on in times of uncertainty. 👇

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

That said, an opportunity was missed to stimulate the economy and promote job growth through increased investment in affordable housing. Housing investment is a significant contributor to the province’s GDP, and building new homes is a proven method of boosting job growth. 👇

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

The rent supplement increases announced in Budget 2025 will have an immediate, positive impact on affordability for seniors and 2,800 working low-income families. These increases will also address a growing gap in the rent supplement suite of programs that have not kept pace with rising rents. 👇

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

There is a lot going on in the news cycle. For those still interested in housing, here are a few thoughts on #Budget2025 1. Phew! Given the economic uncertainty, we're happy that government is maintaining investment in non-profit and co-op housing, with 4,500 completions expected this year. 👇

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

They don’t fund but they contribute land. At least they did until yesterday. Where are you seeing that the Province has moved away from new commitments?

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

I’m not sure what you mean by significant but this was is from their Housing Vancouver plan adopted last year. 1500 new supportive housing units before 2033.

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Reposted by Jill Atkey

Stephen Quinn @cbcstephenquinn.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Judy Graves spent 33 years working with the City of Vancouver - most of it as the city's advocate for homeless people. She once told me, "Everybody has a body, and they need someplace to put it." I've never forgotten that.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

When we ask our leaders for leadership on housing, I guess we'll need to start being more specific about what we actually mean. This is a worrying trend. 👇 www.castanet.net/news/Vernon/...

castanet.net

Elected official wants temporary cap on supportive housing in Vernon - Vernon News

Vernon city councillor Kari Gares wants to put a temporary cap on supportive housing.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

A supportive housing provider summed up this ABC majority decision rather succinctly on a call this morning: "This condemns services to an outreach model: granola bars for everyone, referrals to nowhere." www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

cbc.ca

Vancouver council votes to freeze construction of new supportive housing

A majority of Vancouver councillors have voted in favour of Mayor Ken Sim's motion to freeze the construction of net-new supportive housing. As Janella Hamilton reports, the policy was passed despite ...

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

They can decide what to do with their own land, however, and that's the focus of the motion unfortunately. What's unclear to me is whether they can deny housing types based solely on medical condition/disability as those are constitutionally protected grounds. I'm no lawyer, but...

Screen grab of text from ABC Mayor Sim's motion that reads: That Council direct staff to temporarily pause any City contributions of land or funding for homelessness response supportive housing developments...

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

I'm way outside of my lane here, but I don't think this is really how it works with narcissists.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Imagine if the (Canadian) honorary captain of our men's national hockey team had the same courage as the (American) head coach of our men's national soccer team. Here is the controversial part: this confirms that soccer will always be the superior sport. www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/socce...

theglobeandmail.com

Canada coach tells Trump to lay off ‘ridiculous rhetoric’ of Canada as a 51st state

‘As an American, I’m ashamed of the arrogance and disregard that we’ve shown one of our historically oldest, strongest and most loyal allies,’ Marsch said

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Not now,Dave, and that’s also not a job.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

It shouldn't be necessary, but the most impactful speakers against Mayor Sim's no net new supportive housing motion are those with lived experience. Here is someone who was formerly homeless showing Council how people stay warm when homeless in winter. He's holding up a burnt piece of wood.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

I’m always up for a good gripe, but there was a time when parties of all stripes were more willing to follow the evidence.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Now, housing comes first, and with the right supports, recovery becomes a possibility rather than a requirement. Let's not turn the clock back on an incredibly effective solution to homelessness.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

While some non-profits had been providing housing with supports for decades at this point, many with investment from the BC Liberals, this marked the first time the model had been implemented nationally.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

👆 After years of gathering evidence about Housing First it was a Conservative government led by PM Harper that made the first national investments into supportive housing. Why? Because it works. The evidence says so.

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Supportive housing is evidence-based and non-partisan. Not long ago, people experiencing homelessness had to "graduate" into housing - they couldn't get housing if they used substances or had a mental illness. How can you recover from anything without a home? Read on 👇

canada.ca

Harper Government Invests in Evidence-Based Housing First Homelessness initiatives in the Vancouver area - Canada.ca

The Harper Government is investing more than $41 million in funding through Metro Vancouver as it implements Housing First, a proven, evidence-based approach to end homelessness. The announcement was ...

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Here is today's bright spot: Congratulations to New West, for doubling-down on your commitments to supportive housing and wrap around services. To the municipality with the second most supportive housing units per capita in the region - thank you for your leadership!

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Jill Atkey @jfatkey.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

ICYMI: Councillor Dominato's take on Mayor Sim's supportive housing announcement: I fundamentally don't agree. It's critically important housing for those who require supports - medical, counselling, meals. It could be for people with disabilities, seniors, youth. globalnews.ca/bc/program/t...

globalnews.ca

The Mike Smyth Show | Global News

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