Genevieve Simms

Renters of Calgary unite! Landlords are licking their chops at the all-you-can eat free-market buffet going on here in Calgary. Sadly, the lambs are being slaughtered with barely a peep.

Calgary recently received a gold medal in the large urban rental rate competition across Canada, coming in at a rate of $1,089 per month for a two-bedroom apartment. In just two years, the invisible hand of the market has made 3,000 rental units disappear. The results have been spectacular for rental property owners, with rents increasing 35 per cent over this time period. This is an unprecedented transfer of wealth in Calgary. While some have become obscenely rich off the backs of others, renters are told to wait patiently for the market to correct itself. With the vacancy rate tripling over the last year to 1.5 per cent, perhaps market help is on its way. Unfortunately, many of the rental units that are sitting empty are high-end condos.

The Alberta government has repeatedly rebuffed any calls for rent control, a market intervention to alleviate renters’ pain. What is sometimes lost in the “free market solution for everything” rhetoric is that government intervention has historically occurred because, at times, the market ignores or is even the cause of social and environmental problems. The free market is not building affordable housing and is in fact destroying it.

In other situations, the Alberta government appears not to believe in the free-market. For example, during the mad-cow crisis in 2004, the Alberta government bailed out meat packers to the tune of $402 million. Much of this went disproportionately to the largest meat packers. The immediate result was the big-three meat packers’ profits skyrocketing 281 per cent. Renters, on the other hand, with wide public support, directly received only $7 million from the Alberta government in the Homeless and Eviction Prevention Fund and an additional $14 million in rent supplements. Essentially, these are landlord subsidies. With a low vacancy rate, rent supplements actually push rents up further. Renters, who are not well organized or well resourced, get little help, while huge foreign multinational meat packers get lots.

Clearly, the Alberta government only believes in the free market or market interventions when they benefit its corporate friends.

How have Albertans allowed this to happen? The Alberta economy is becoming what the late free-market guru Milton Friedman termed “democracy proofed.” The free market’s fundamental tenet advocates that everyone should pursue their self interest. Unrestrained greed magically promotes the common good. This fairy tale has made Albertans docile and obedient.

What needs to be done to rectify this situation? Most importantly, all three levels of government need to make the tax system more progressive. Taxes need to be increased for those in the higher income brackets. This money should be allocated through taxes towards income supports, affordable housing, education, health care, day care, public transit, etc. Having all three levels of government investing at least one per cent of taxes in affordable housing would be a great help to renters. The best area to direct this money would be in co-operative housing, which would ensure that housing would be affordable in the long term. Having the Alberta government amend the Municipal Government Act to allow for inclusionary zoning in all new developments and redevelopments in Calgary would ensure that affordable housing would be built on a continuous basis. All income ranges should be adequately represented in every community. Though temporary rent controls were most needed 18 months ago, they would at least preserve the little affordable housing that remains while more is being built.

It is time that renters get more respect and protection because contrary to popular opinion, they pay their fair share of property taxes indirectly through rent. Though it would be an enormous challenge, this is a great opportunity for unions to organize renters. Having a unified and large voice would be of a great benefit to them. In addition, though, they make up only 30 per cent of Calgary’s population, renters need to step up their political participation, which severely lags behind that of homeowners. There may be both a provincial and a federal election in 2008. For any meaningful change to occur, the city’s renters need to unite and vote out the Conservatives in these elections.