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and to secure the "nancing they need to be sustainable." However, all those transfers go into housing vulnerable groups, as opposed to housing those whose incomes no lon- ger match local housing costs. As a result, the a‚ordability crisis has fallen onto the shoulders of municipalities—which, in the case of Vancouver and other cities, rely upon private developers to incorpo- rate non-market housing into their re- zoning projects as a trade-o‚ for height or density. So far, in Vancouver, the ratio of a‚ordable housing to market- rate housing being built is dismally low: according to the city, only 133 units of social housing—intended for those with low incomes—were built in 2015. Mean- while, 2,719 market-rate rentals, condos, townhouses and duplexes were built that same year, according to CMHC. Penny Gurstein, director of UBC's School of Community and Regional Planning, thinks the unwillingness of senior levels of government to get back into the business of a‚ordable housing is about politics, not policy. "It is very short sighted of governments to try to solve budgetary problems and download housing delivery totally to the private sector," she says. "It appears to be an ideological decision rather than a long-range policy decision, which is needed to address housing." Canada has been without a housing policy for so long—the feds got out of social housing in 1993—that there's a whole new generation unaware that government used to consider a‚ordable shelter a top priority. "People have trouble conceiv- ing of a world in which the government, through active policy, encourages the sig- ni"cant construction of rental housing or builds leasehold housing—initiatives that would bring the cost of housing down," says David Eby, NDP MLA for Point Grey and his party's housing critic. "Instead of learning from False Creek South, it's as if we are going backwards. People assume the little a‚ordable housing in our city that exists is just there, somehow, through a lucky break. But that housing only ever came about because of deliber- ate policies by government."± Vancouver Quadra Liberal MP Joyce Murray was disturbed enough by the lack of public consultation in the Little Mountain case that she put together an ad hoc committee of citizens to share their vision for Jericho lands post-sale. "I see the Jericho lands as being probably the most signi®icant development site in Canada for its size and location—it's a jewel for the city. If we were Copenhagen or Paris or Amsterdam and there was this amazing site, the citizens of those cities would not be content to wait for someone else to tell them their plan. They would want to be included with their interests and vision." Murray is a proponent of hanging onto public lands and selling leases instead. But Jericho is a hot enough political potato that she's focusing only on the process. She won't comment on what she'd like to see happen with the Jericho lands speci"- cally—sensitive to the fact that there are several stakeholders involved, including the three First Nations. It's a hopeful sign that Canada Lands, the crown co-owner, has to consider repurposing the site for social good as part of its mandate. While many continue to argue that the province and feds should step up—and uvic.ca/PartnerWithUs In the talent that drives powerful ideas In the urgency to innovate for a healthy, sustainable world In creativity and breakthroughs today for a better tomorrow In solutions that matter to people, places and the planet you'll find it—the UVic Edge. THE EDGE IS HERE

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