A2 RED DEER ADVOCATE Monday, Feb. 10, 2014
STORIES FROM PAGE A1
RENT: Absence of control creating dire problems The CHMC report also revealed average rent for Red Deer bachelor suites in October was $611, an increase from $568 in 2012. One-bedroom rents jumped to $796 from $736, twobedroom units increased to $937 from $867, and rents for three-bedroom apartments were up to $1,057 from $961. Staff at the Red Deer Housing Authority agree that the absence of a provincially backed rent control system is causing a number of dire problems, especially for those in subsidized housing. “We see lots of rent increases every month through our rent subsidy plan and there isn’t anything we can do about it,” Outi Kite, housing administrator said. “Even for us when we look at providing house subsidies, we only get an annual budget and if there were rent controls in place, we would be able to help more people get into affordable housing.” Many clients have approached the authority to complain about the fact they are on the brink of losing their housing due to rent increases, Kite added. “(Rent controls) would make a big difference because we’re going to have more homeless people otherwise.” Kite said the organization has noticed average increases of $150 to $200 a month for the majority of their clients over the last year. One Red Deer resident on a subsidy plan experienced a rent increase of $400, and while they were provided with the required three month notice, such an increase can be too much to handle in the long run, Kite said. Service Alberta, the body that regulates renting in the province, says rent controls can cause problems. “They discourage development of new rental housing, which exacerbates the problem. It reduces the ability of the landlord to maintain and upgrade the rental property so it actually has a negative effect in that it makes less rental units available,” said Mike Berezowsky, assistant director of communications with Service Alberta. Baril, 54, said she hasn’t noticed any upgrades done to her Eastview neighbourhood apartment building since rents started going up. She understands a rent freeze is not the answer but said she still thinks the system needs reforming. “I just want someone to tell me what a reasonable rent is and set a reasonable standard that landlords can increase rents by,” she said. Baril said she called Cal Dallas, the MLA for Red Deer South and the province’s International and Intergovernmental Relations minister, to express her concerns. Baril, who spearheaded changes in a bylaw regarding the responsibilities of sporting goods stores in Hope, B.C. ,years ago, is ready to start a petition but said it will be hard with her limited mobility. “I’m going to try my best to get that going,” she said.
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
2019 Canada Winter Games Bid Chair Lyn Radford, right, leads Randy Heaps of ISL Engineering and the Canada Games Bid Evaluation Committee made up of Chris Milner, Aaron Bruce and Dena Coward on a tour of Great Chief Park on Friday morning. The evaluation committee toured city facilities Friday and Saturday. “Someone needs to speak out for those who are never heard. As low-income people, we’re brushed aside a lot of the time. I’m trying to get the word out to Albertans to get a hold of their MLAs, MPs, whatever it takes to get rent controls put in place.” Ontario, Manitoba and Nova Scotia are some other provinces with rent controls, which stipulate allowable rent increases each year. To contact Baril, email lbaril2011@hotmail.com. rfrancoeur@reddeeradvocate.com
GAMES: March 7 deadline for next phase The technical review committee will now submit a report to the Canada Games Council’s bid evaluation committee. By March 7, the two communities (Red Deer and Lethbridge) in the running will be notified whether or not they will proceed to the evaluation phase of the bidding. Red Deer College president Joel Ward said he believes the technical group saw what the college can
do to contribute to the bid. “I think they were also impressed that there’s a potential volunteer base of students,” said Ward. “I think they were excited that we are looking to connect some of our student programming to the games (and) give our students a real world opportunity.” Mayor Tara Veer said the ability to host the games is a great opportunity for Red Deer not only in terms of the profile that the games would bring in 2019 but the legacy it would leave with the new venues and enriched community spirit. Should Red Deer advance, the bid committee will tweak the bid based on the recommendations. Final bid proposals are due to the Canada Games Bid Evaluation Committee by the end of May. The community chosen to host the 2019 Canada Winter Games will be announced in September. ● Show your support for the bid with a Red Deer is Ready button. The buttons will be available free of charge starting today at the Collicutt Centre, the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Business Association. Find Red Deer is Ready – 2019 Canada Winter Games Bid on Facebook for more information. crhyno@reddeeradvocate.com
Ottawa slammed for cutting band constable program WINNIPEG — Manitoba is slamming Ottawa for cutting front-line policing on dozens of the province’s reserves, calling it part of a federal “line of attack” on First Nation communities. Attorney General Andrew Swan told a gathering of the governing New Democrats that he just learned of the cuts to the band constable program in January. The 45-year-old program that allows First Nations to police their own communities in partnership with the RCMP will be terminated in just over a year, Swan said. “This is a continuing line of attacks on aboriginal people by the federal government,” he told a convention of the provincial NDP in Winnipeg on Sunday.
“The Conservative government tells us they’re about law and order. They may be about law but they’re sure as hell not about order.” Some 31 First Nations communities across Manitoba rely on band constables and get about $1.7 million for the program. Despite the funding, some reserves say they’ve had to fundraise to pay the constables’ salaries. Supporters of the program say the constables are a vital front-line service for many remote reserves where the RCMP detachment is several communities away. Band constables are trained to federal policing standards but live in the community and can diffuse many situations before they evolve into crimes, Swan said. The aboriginal constables can enforce band bylaws and
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are often first on the scene in an emergency while the RCMP are still making their way there, he added. Both Alberta and New Brunswick have similar First Nation policing programs but it’s not clear whether those are also being terminated, Swan said. The NDP unanimously passed a resolution calling on the federal government to reverse its decision to terminate the band constable program, which it accused of “effectively ending front-line policing on many Manitoba First Nation communities.” Swan said he was “probably the happiest person in the province” when Public Safety Minister Vic Toews resigned last summer. “But unfortunately, it’s gone from bad to worse,” Swan said. “This is another example of how our federal government
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is continuing to cut apart services to First Nations people. Today, it’s justice. “Tomorrow, it’s going to be health care or education or family services.” Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney has offered the province some cash to replace the program but Swan said, at best, it would fund about 15 new RCMP officers which couldn’t possibly cover the same ground as the constables. Jean-Christophe de Le Rue, a spokesman for the public safety minister, said the program fell short of goals. “Our Government has fully reallocated the funding dedicated to Band Constable Program because it never achieved its intended targets,” de Le Rue said in an email Sunday. “We believe the First Nations Policing Program is the
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best vehicle to ensure the safety and the security of the First Nations.” Clarence Pettersen, MLA for Flin Flon, said many communities in his constituency rely on band constables and they worry about what will happen when the program is terminated. “It helps them go to sleep at night and close both eyes,” he said. “They’re wondering what’s going to happen out there to the crime rate.” Premier Greg Selinger spoke more diplomatically, saying there is still time for Ottawa to reverse the decision. “It is a concern for us to lose that program,” he said. “We certainly, I think, will be supported by other provinces in wanting to maintain that program.”
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