THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2015
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ELECTION ISSUE EXAMINED
International award-winning pianist to perform at TOSH
What do the candidates say their parties will do about the $616B national debt
A17
A5
NEW NATIONAL INDEX SHOWS . . .
Rent is pricey in Parksville More than half of renters here spend more than 30% of income AUREN RUVINSKY writer@pqbnews.com
A new Canadian Rental Housing Index shows more than half of renters in Parksville spend more than 30 per cent of their income on rent. The first ever national index published by a national group of housing and financial organizations including groups like the B.C. NonProfit Housing Association and Vancity credit union breaks down data for more than four million rental households, covering 30 per cent of all housing. “The number one pocketbook issue for Canadians is housing affordability, and that pocketbook is getting squeezed,” said Tony Roy, chief executive officer of the BC Non-Profit Housing Association, calling for more government action. The index breaks Statistics Canada data on 800 communities into an interactive online map which includes Parksville and the Regional District of Nanaimo but not Qualicum Beach. It shows Parksville and the RDN with 51 and 53 per cent respectively, spending more than 30 per cent on accommodation, a threshold Statistics Canada uses to determine housing affordability. Nationally 40 per cent of renters spend more than 30 per cent. Parksville mayor Marc Lefebvre previously said “availability” is the biggest problem with rental accommodations in the city. “Affordable housing is a tough nut to crack,” he said, stopping short of connecting the rental availability and cost to economic opportunity in the city. See ‘A CRISIS LEVEL OF SPENDING’, page A8
QUALICUM BEACH MAN FACING CHARGES
Guides need a licence CANDACE WU
news@pqbnews.com
A Qualicum Beach man is facing stiff charges for allegedly guiding without a licence, stemming from three separate incidents occurring over the last 18 months. Crown Council approved three charges against the man, conservation officer Stuart Bates told The NEWS on Tuesday. See FINES, JAIL TIME POSSIBLE, page A8
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