Housing will soon have its own ministry in B.C.
Premier David Eby announced the incoming change Tuesday (Nov. 22), saying more is needed to tackle the province’s supply and affordability challenges.
“The housing crisis deserves the attention of a full ministry and the resources that come with it,” he said in a statement.
Housing in B.C. is currently lumped in under the responsibilities of the attorney general, a position now filled by MLA Murray Rankin. Rankin is also the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation.
Prior to that, housing was overseen by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, before municipal affairs branched off into its own ministry.
Eby said he’ll name who the new minister of housing is when he reveals his full cabinet on Dec. 7.
His Tuesday announcement comes just one day after he released his plan to tackle the province’s housing crisis, including a proposed Housing Supply Act and amendments to the Strata Property Act. If passed, the former will give the province a more hands-on role in setting and enforcing housing targets for individual municipalities. The latter promises to remove rental and age restrictions from strata-run buildings, except for those for people aged 55-plus.
READ ALSO: Eby drills down on age-restrictive stratas, municipal targets in new housing measures
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