Syrian refugee plan an opportunity to rethink national housing strategy

The arrival of almost 3,000 refugees in B.C. may spell trouble for residents on the waiting list for rental housing, but it may also push the federal government to implement a much-needed national housing strategy, says an urban planning professor.

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The federal government announced Tuesday it is delaying the original plan to bring in 25,000 refugees by the end of the yearand lowering that number to 10,000 by the end of December.

In an email to CBC, a spokesperson from Citizenship and Immigration Canada confirmed the federal government has agreements with service providers in the Lower Mainland "to provide immediate and essential specialized services for refugees."

But an influx of refugees will put pressure on the region's rental housing stock,compounding the existing issue of affordable housing,says Penny Guerstein, director of UBC's School of Community and Regional Planning.

"To actually find housing within the stock of housing they have, other non-profit housing societies will probably be having to maybe step up to do that kind of thing, which is going to put pressure on the kind of wait lists that are already there in BC Housing."

Settling in small communities

There may be more social services available in the Lower Mainland, but Guersteinsays refugee families may struggle to find long-term solutions in the area.

"They'd be really struggling to maintain housing over the long term, and added to the cost of living, which is much higher in the Lower Mainland."

Other researchers have suggested smaller communities in other parts of B.C. may offer a better solution, one that will benefit both refugees and existing small towns.Guersteinagrees.

There will be more demand for refugees'skills and expertise andopening a small business in a town may be easier, she said.

She added that her own family, immigrants from Russia, benefited from settling in a small town first as well.

"All my grandparents and my father...they all went to small communities and all thrived in small communities."

An opportunity for national housing

Guerstein says the decision to accept 25,000 Syrian refugees is a good opportunity for the federal government to rethink national housing policies and stimulate the construction of more housing stock.

"Given that we are going to be accepting these refugees, I think we need to be thinking about the kind of housing they're going to need. In the long term it would be purpose-built rental housing."

That kind of rental-housing stock does exist in the Lower Mainland, especially in Burnaby and New Westminister, but "we're losing it," says Guerstein.

Immigrants and refugees successfully settle in the Lower Mainland every year, but Guerstein hopes Canada's decision to take in 25,000 Syrian refugees in the coming months will "be another inducement to start addressing housing in a serious way."

To listen to the full audio, click the link labelled:Where should Syrian refugees live?