Dear Editor,
I am writing you on behalf of the Property Taxpayers Alliance (www.propertytaxpayer.ca). The Federal, Provincial, and Region of Waterloo governments, are all contributors to the homelessness problem. It’s surprising that this topic never comes up in the media. After years of provincial government “rent controls”, it was no surprise that investment in building new rental units dropped off precipitously. As a result, the supply of rental units in Waterloo fell even further behind the growing demand. Rent control as a policy failed miserably. In the long run it drove rental unit prices up and up. Add to this the Federal government’s “open the immigration floodgate” policy. They knew there would be a housing shortage but still went ahead, driving rental costs into the stratosphere. Another failed government policy. And not to be outdone, Waterloo Regional municipal governments have been raising property taxes (cities, townships and the regional government) at 2 to 3 times inflation year after year. This is driving up rents as landlords simply pass these costs on to renters. Increasing rents are driving people out of apartments into homelessness. And the cost of home ownership is rising faster and faster due to out of control property tax increases. People living at the margin are being driven out of their homes as their disposable incomes are eroded away by rampant municipal taxation. Cambridge population grew by 8% from 2018 to 2024 while Cambridge taxation grew by 40%. There’s something terribly wrong with this picture. What we desperately need is less government, not more, particularly at the municipal level. We should demand greater efficiency and effectiveness in the use of our hard-earned tax dollars.
John B Waylett
Property Taxpayers Alliance
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