The legislation intends to come as rental increases in Saskatchewan have outpaced every other Canadian province. Saskatchewan people also report the highest degree of financial anxiety in the nation.
“People are drowning in debt,” said April ChiefCalf, Saskatchewan NDP Housing Shadow Minister. “We hear stories of people paying their rent on their credit or being forced to choose between paying their rent or putting food on the table — that’s not right.
“The Saskatchewan NDP is focused on a future where every person in this province has an affordable and safe place to call their own. That’s why we need rent control.”
British Columbia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and even Doug Ford’s Ontario have already implemented rent control measures to protect tenants and maintain housing affordability.
ChiefCalf said she speaks to young people who don’t believe they will ever be able to afford the down payment on their first home. She is also actively exploring ways to help first-time homebuyers and welcomes ideas and feedback from the public.
“So many people dream of owning a home, but for many it’s become just that — a dream,” ChiefCalf said. “We owe it to our young people — our future leaders — to make owning a home reality.”
ChiefCalf will be speaking with key groups — tenants, landlords, advocates, community-based housing organizations, subject matter experts, developers and community planners — about the housing crisis in Saskatchewan in the weeks and months to come before introducing legislation in the Fall Sitting.
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