GVAT Blog & Newsletters
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Commentary on Social Housing Co-authored by Nicole Chaland
(Photo by Brandon Griggs on Unsplash)
July Newsletter from Greater Victoria Acting Together - Save the date for Oct 2nd Housing Assembly!
Highlights:
● SAVE THE DATE! SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 7:00 - 8:30 PM GVAT HOUSING AFFORDABILITY ASSEMBLY
● Write to support Gorge View affordable housing proposal today! (Public hearing Thursday July 28!)
● Win! Oak Bay allows secondary suites and boarders, without additional parking
● Profiles: Yvonne Hsieh & Camosun College Students’ Society
Win! Oak Bay allows secondary suites and boarders, without additional parking
Greater Victoria Acting Together members have been campaigning to get Oak Bay to improve their secondary suite and roomers / boarders policies for years. And now Oak Bay has directed staff to create a better policy that some other area municipalities!
June 2022 Newsletter from Greater Victoria Acting Together
Greater Victoria Acting Together’s unions, faith, service, environmental and student organisations representing tens of thousands of people have had a busy year and many successes! We have supported decision makers to take steps to protect us from a changing climate, address affordable housing and find community first ways to address opioid overdose deaths.
Win! Victoria takes another small step to make transportation, and housing, affordable and sustainable.
At the urging of Greater Victoria Acting Together (GVAT), Councillor Jeremy Loveday made a motion to allign “the City of Victoria’s vehicle kilometres travelled targets with the targets within the Clean BC plan.” On June 9th Council voted unanimously in favor. This is an important step as the BC government’s CleanBC target is much stronger than Victoria’s present target for replacing automobile traffic with public transit, walking, rolling, and cycling.
Combating the stigma of homelessness - GVAT and the Existence Project
In 2020-2021 GVAT member groups invited their members to the virtual town halls organized by the Project bringing stories of people in the region with lived experience of being unhoused to various community associations and allied groups in Victoria.
‘A Roof for All’ Workshop helps shape GVAT’s housing campaign
While Saanich has had affordable housing policies for almost 15 years and participates in regional housing programs, the municipality still faces a severe deficit of affordable rental housing. The recent Saanich Housing Strategy considers current and future needs and identifies a dozen high-priority actions to diversify and expand the affordable housing stock.
Win! Victoria and Saanich vote unanimously for Rapid Affordable Housing
This month Victoria City Council voted unanimously in favor of the Rapid Deployment of Affordable Housing policy, which will expedite and lower the cost of building affordable non-profit, government and cooperative housing. “This makes Victoria the first municipality in B.C. to approve an accelerated process for affordable housing city-wide.”