REGINA – It’s a tall order, but Mayor Michael Fougere and groups from across the country are trying to help solve Regina’s housing crunch.
The 2014 Mayor’s Housing Summit on Tuesday follows last year’s event, which outlined solutions such as pocket housing and secondary suites.
The idea behind Regina’s laneway suites program also came from the event.
Presenters Tuesday include the Vancouver Native Housing Society and representatives from cities such as Edmonton and Fredericton to talk about redevelopment and affordable growth.
Fougere told Global Regina’s Morning News the city has already taken strides to improve the rental market.
“We’ve improved our incentive policies on housing to mirror what the province is doing so we can add on and compliment each other,” Fougere said.
“Our vacancy rate has come from 0.6 per cent to 2.5 per cent in about a year and a half, so we’re doing, we think, the right things, but we want to have discussions about what else we can do to make it better.”
A similar conference – with a different approach – is also being held Tuesday.
Just like in 2013, an ‘alternative housing summit’ will host a number of community-based organization, such as Carmichael Outreach and Project People.
Marc Spooner, a University of Regina housing researcher, said he believes the Mayor’s event has become more focused on developers.
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