Dear Editor:
All my life, I have believed that Canada was the best country in the world to live in. I have lived on the North Shore all my life and would not trade it for anything until now. I remember when if you said you lived in Lower Lonsdale or Lynn Valley, people looked at you differently.
I have worked hard to provide for my family and have invested wisely. We were involved with our church, my wife ran for council and my children were active in almost everything the North Shore had to offer.
I have heard the word “affordability” thrown about by people, and truly I do not think they know what it means. Nobody in London uses that word for housing because quite plainly it does not exist over there. Most working-class people live outside of London and commute every day, knowing that “affordable” does not exist within.
For years, Vancouver wanted to be a “world-class” city like Montreal and Toronto were in the 1970s. Vancouver was always third best and Ottawa never let us forget it. Well, now that Vancouver has become that world-class gem that everyone wanted, they are not pleased with the result.
Do you want to turn back the clock a few years and try again? Too bad. Those days are long gone.
What offends me is that back in the ’80s, municipalities started requiring people to get a permit to cut down a tree on their own property. Now the government thinks it has the right to tax me if I don’t rent out my house. Speculation tax — for what? We already have capital gains tax.
As I said, we have invested wisely, and now we are reaping the benefits of that success. I retired at 49 (not Freedom55 plan) and have been travelling for the past six years in Europe (still haven’t seen it all). I owe it all to the fact that back when interest rates were 13 per cent I was not scared to dive headfirst into a real estate market that everyone said was already overheated. Look where we are now —- still going.
Yes, I was laughing all the way to the bank when I sold our house and I am still laughing.
Peter Unger
Austria
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