Landlords can name their price
Paula Arab Calgary Herald Sunday, February 18, 2007
Landlord Alnoor Kassam would have us believe that jacking up rent by an astronomical amount to get his tenants out quickly was a "morally" wrenching decision. Hogwash. It was a decision he made -- and then reversed under public pressure -- because, in the end, it came down to business. This is more than a moral dilemma. It's an unlevel playing field for tenants, who are the buyers of the service. A free market usually means business that's in the interests of both buyers and sellers, not a predatory climate that places one at the mercy of the other.
There are clear rules of engagement, as set out for the rental market by provincial legislation. In this case, the Alberta Residential Tenancies Act ensures both buyer and seller know where they stand. Yet under this law, Kassam was perfectly within his legal right to double and triple the rent. Heck, he could have raised it by 8,000 per cent had he wanted to. The sky's the limit, legally, as long as he gives three months' notice. That doesn't offer much legal protection for the tenant.
I'm sure Ron Brunt feels that way. He was told his $650 apartment would go up to $2,500 as of May 1. By all means, let the market dictate the price, but it doesn't take an Einstein to figure out the new amount is well above market rates. Yes, the apartment is in the high-brow Mount Royal neighbourhood, but it's only 450 square feet. If $2,500 is the market rate for this broom closet, why did the aspiring politician estimate he could only get $2,200 to $3,000 a month after renovating the units into larger, luxury executive suites? And furnished, no less. This incident illustrates a bigger problem -- the lack of tenants' rights in Alberta.
The provincial landlord and tenant act offers some protections for renters, such as requiring landlords to give 90 days eviction notice. Measures to enforce the law are inadequate, and landlords know it. I heard one story recently about a Calgary couple given just one month's notice to vacate their apartment. It was illegal, but did they have the money to take the landlord to court? Not likely, since a significant segment of the population is struggling financially in Calgary. Move out? Good luck finding another place in a city with a 0.5-per-cent vacancy rate. They moved to B.C. Calgary city council, although concerned about the housing crisis, doesn't even operate a landlord and tenant advisory board -- something allowed and encouraged under the provincial legislation. Edmonton, Red Deer and Fort McMurray, on the other hand, have such services.
Without taking sides, an advisory board offers tenants access to a place where their concerns under the act may be addressed and a resolution mediated. Some will note how tough landlords had it a few years ago, when tenants in Calgary called all the shots. Sure, being a landlord is a tough job, full of headaches. It takes someone who's prepared for the long haul, not looking to turn a quick buck, because this business typically reaps the most benefits only after equity builds. But the choice for landlords -- in a renters' market -- is to find a more profitable business, not be homeless.
At a minimum, Alberta needs to put a lid on the amount by which landlords can increase rent. This is very different than putting a ceiling on how much they can charge, typically what's meant by the fearful phrase "rent control." In Ontario, landlords and tenants can negotiate the price, but once the renter is in, the increase is limited to once a year and linked to the consumer price index. Over the past 20 years, economists have concluded such regulation has not adversely affected the rental market because the increases have been lower than the allowable guidelines. The principles of supply and demand in the open market don't translate cleanly when you're talking about housing. In the Middle Eastern souk, if a barter doesn't like the price of spices or a pound of coffee, he can walk away. It's not so easy to do so when the item in question is the roof over your head. In a tight market, renters have no choice but to accept the conditions set by sometimes greedy landlords. That's why the legislation must do a better job of protecting them.
parab@theherald.canwest.com
© The Calgary Herald 2007
It's up to the city to get ball rolling
Alnoor Kassam For the Calgary Herald Sunday, February 18, 2007
Welcome to Calgary, a city of seemingly endless opportunity. With this opportunity comes challenges. One major challenge is the cost of living, especially housing, which is increasing at rates thousands of Calgarians cannot keep up with. I cannot undo the situation that results in a higher cost of living for all Calgarians. I can, and will, commit to working with the residents in my building to ensure they are able to find affordable solutions to their housing needs. But this situation is not unique.
In one year, property values have increased more than 30 per cent. Over the course of five years, inner-city property values have skyrocketed, resulting in huge cost increases for tenants, landlords and property owners. Property values increase. Property taxes increase. Rents increase. What hasn't changed is the absolute lack of vision from our civic, provincial and federal governments. To date, our low-income housing strategy has been to warehouse people in short-term drop-in centres.
Non-profit societies strain under the pressure to keep up with demand. The current administration has allowed our low-income housing strategy to languish without proper funding or vision. This forces the Mustard Seed, Calgary Drop-In Centre, Inn From the Cold and dozens of other agencies to try to fill the gap. A gap created by a lack of foresight, policy and vision. It is time to change. No longer should the working poor fill our Drop-In Centre. Families should not have to rely on Inn From the Cold. And the Mustard Seed shouldn't have to operate temporary facilities in neighbourhoods where they aren't wanted.
Starting now, a campaign should be waged to provide vision, leadership and drive to establish long-term transitional housing. A commitment must be made to provide homes to the poor. It starts by providing options to homeowners to allow for secondary suites in their homes. This provides a valuable income stream to property owners, lower rents to tenants and increased density in established neighbourhoods. The City of Calgary has turned a blind eye to the housing shortage and forces small landowners to evict tenants in secondary suites.
It is time for a new vision of managing secondary suites that provides safety for tenants while easing the burden of the current housing shortage. The next step is to commit to building low-income housing. Immediately. In the downtown core, the City of Calgary spends more time and resources governing parking stalls than low-income housing. Civic policy dictates that any builder must provide parking stalls to service their building. Yet, residential developers have no requirement to build low-income options into their developments.
Should developers be setting the housing agenda for our city? When can we expect our civic leaders to stand up and demand construction of low-income housing? The cost need not be borne by developers alone. The province should match the investment of private entrepreneurs. Ministers have long been talking of P-3s as a solution to school construction woes -- why not housing? Policy needs to be developed to encourage construction of low-income housing options.
If the mayor can jump-start construction on a billion dollars worth of roads and interchanges, surely he can jump-start construction on several hundred units of low-income housing. It is simply a matter of priority -- housing or roads? People or cars? It is time our mayor put people before roads.
Alnoor Kassam is a hotelier who is converting some of his holdings into long-stay hotels and apartments. He is also a declared candidate for mayor in this fall's municipal elections.
© The Calgary Herald 2007
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CITYBEAT - CITY OF CALGARY PRESS RELEASE
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Calls came in to 9-1-1 Dispatch at approximately 12:20 this afternoon for reports of falling construction debris in the vicinity of 1st Street and 2nd Avenue SW.
When fire crews arrived, there were a number of sheets of plywood which had blown off of a 45-storey highrise building under construction. Westerly gusts had displaced construction materials which had not previously been secured on the roof of the highrise. The situation was made much more dangerous by the fact that there were Chinese New Year's celebrations being held in the streets below with an approximate attendance of 1000 people. The incident commander stated "It was very fortunate that no one was injured by the falling plywood."
Fire crews quickly attempted to clear the area below to protect bystanders from further danger while other crews scrambled to the top of the building under construction to stack and secure the remaining loose materials. The Calgary Fire Department's High Angle Rescue Team was brought to the
incident and remained on standby while the incident was controlled.
An estimated 10-15 sheets of plywood (4' x 8') landed on the ground below, some of them striking an Ellis Don construction trailer at the base of the site.
Over twenty firefighters and 6 fire apparatus were dispatched to the site. Construction crews subsequently arrived on scene and followed up on securing the building materials.
Foreign workers flock to Alberta
Experts fear many don't know rights
Kelly Cryderman, Calgary Herald
Published: Sunday, February 18, 2007
As the number of temporary foreign workers coming to the province hits record levels, staff who provide services to immigrants fear many have inflated expectations and a lack of awareness of their rights.
In the first six months of 2006, Alberta welcomed 6,500 temporary foreign workers -- a 40 per cent increase from the level recorded during the same period in 2005, which was a record year, according to recent data from the federal department of Citizenship and Immigration.
"The number of foreign workers, the whole program has really taken off in Canada and it's really taken off in Alberta," said Randy Gurlock, an area director for Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
But advocates for immigrants say many of these workers come to Canada without much English, unaware of their labour rights, scared of speaking to employers about health issues, and with false hopes about their temporary job easily leading to a permanent life here.
These issues have always existed for some, but with the swell of workers flocking to Alberta's hot economy, and more of them unskilled, the number of problems is growing.
"The person wants to stay. The economy needs them to stay. But they come on a temporary permit," said Dale Taylor, executive director of the Centre for Newcomers, a Calgary service centre for immigrants.
"When they're coming for less-skilled jobs, they have no financial elbow room. So they're dependent on that one employer. And his obligations are clear, but (workers) don't know what (those) obligations are. They don't know about employment standards," Taylor said.
The people who try to help new immigrants with the problems they encounter after coming to Canada are also increasingly being visited by temporary foreign workers.
Last week, the Alberta Settlement Conference brought government officials and immigration agencies together in Calgary.
Canada's temporary foreign worker program allows newcomers to work for a limited period if employers demonstrate they can't find suitable Canadian or permanent residents to fill the job. It also has to be shown that the entry of these workers will not have a negative effect on the labour market.
The modern form of the employer-driven program has existed since 1976 to meet labour shortages. As of late, more unskilled workers have started flowing to Canada to fill the demand -- many of them are now headed for the service sector.
"All the people I dealt with, they have the hope they're going to stay," said Veena Chandra, executive director of the Central Alberta Refugee Effort Committee in Red Deer. "They are supporting their families back at home. They have big dreams and they want to live in Canada, and work here."
She said many live in constant fear of being kicked out. Her organization dealt with one worker who hid the fact he had diabetes to secure work in Canada. Keeping his condition secret even when he went to work at a Red Deer plant resulted in the worsening of his condition, and having his foot amputated. He was sent back to El Salvador.
Chandra also said some recruiters take high fees for setting up the paperwork, or make promises about the process of permanent residency being easier than it is.
Chandra added that some of the workers don't even know their recruiter's last name.
With Ottawa emphasizing that only some temporary foreign workers will become permanent residents, Chandra said she wants to make sure they are told exactly what they're getting into before they leave their home countries.
Sean Laidley, business development manager for Mexi-Can Labour Force Inc., said his business does not charge the workers for setting them up with employers. They also guard against employers charging workers for services the companies are legally obligated to provide -- such as a round-trip flight.
But recruiters in foreign countries often take money from vulnerable workers, he said. "It's an area that is a huge concern."
Part of the problem, say those in the immigration community, is there is no designated government funding for programs that would help temporary foreign workers adjust to a new country or know their rights.
Dan Kelly of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said temporary foreign workers often adjust better to Canada than immigrants because their jobs exist and their skills are recognized.
However, he said it would be reasonable for Ottawa to include temporary foreign workers in some of the immigrant services funding it provides.
Rob Bray, family and children services manager at Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, said the tight labour market is helping temporary foreign workers, as it is others.
"If your employer is abusing you. . . you can probably get another job."
kcryderman@theherald.canwest.com
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Development leaving room for ranching
In what is likely a first in Alberta, a developer in a rural area is proposing a development that integrates ranching, conservation and residential ideas.
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Mayor on trade mission
Mayor Dave Bronconnier is taking part in a trade mission to China, Saudi Arabia and Dubai this week. The mayor has estimated the cost of the trip, to be paid for from his office budget, at between $12,000 and $15,000.
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Power failure briefly shuts down airport
TRANSPORT * The Calgary International Airport was temporarily shutdown Saturday evening after an electrical failure knocked out its airfield lights.
Public gets peek at CBE complex plan
Plans to turn the Dr. Carl Safran School site into a complex encompassing the Calgary Board of Education's headquarters, a conference centre and green space moved one step closer to reality Thursday after the public was given a chance to view the proposal.
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