Residents rally for change in the ongoing Canadian housing crisis

A sizeable demonstration could be seen in the green space outside of Waterloo City Hall on Saturday as residents gathered to voice their concern toward the current state of housing in the region and across Canada. Organized through the Canada Housing message board on Reddit, Saturday’s housing protest marked one of several held simultaneously alongside similar events in Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver – calling for “decisive action to fix housing” in Canada.

Speaking to 570 NEWS ahead of the event’s early afternoon start was Layla Morrison, co-organizer of the Kitchener-Waterloo instalment of the Canadian National Housing Protest. Welcoming any attendee concerned about housing in Canada, online invitations to the rally encouraged participants of all political stripes, regardless of “view of the problem or preferred solutions”.

When asked, Morrison said there were three key demands being made by the Canada-wide protests – in calling for more houses and homes built, less speculation in the housing market and improved social housing.

When asked about her motivation for joining the initiative, Morrison said she’s been both “underhoused and homeless”, currently in the process of allegedly being “illegally evicted” by her landlord as she called the experience “all too common” for tenants around the region. While Morrison said she’d originally intended to participate by lending her audio equipment as a professional DJ, she eventually ended up taking charge as a volunteer to help the group locally.

It wasn’t long before a handful of residents gathered to listen to music played from Morrison’s audio set up – with some carrying signs with their own slogans. A table was also set up distributing poster board and markers for attendees to make their own concerns know.

“Some of the stories I’m seeing are like… people have disabilities and are unable to afford any housing while on (the Ontario Disability Support Program) and other social supports,” said Morrison. “We have people earning six figures who are getting outbid by commercial investors: people with more money… and average citizens can’t compete with that.”

As part of a nation-wide initiative, Morrison said it’s important to see the argument for better affordability for renters and buyers across Canada – aiming to avoid a perceived lack of interest or decisive action on the part of dignitaries and senior levels of government.

“Politicians can ignore as many written articles as they want – or choose not to read them, or not to care. But when you have a group of people out front of the buildings where laws and legislation are passed making a lot of noise, it’s hard to ignore that.”

Organizers are calling for more homes, improved social housing and the end of housing speculation.

Welcoming anyone concerned about housing, today’s event invites all regardless of “political persuasion” or “preferred solution”. pic.twitter.com/vsL4vvUgWb

— Luke Schulz (@lukeontheradio) August 14, 2021