NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Students Question Mayor Pender’s Stance on Housing Shortage
Corner Brook - In the midst of a campaign to lobby the provincial government for increased affordable housing, Grenfell College Student Union (GCSU) is now questioning the Mayor’s knowledge of and willingness to act on the current lack of affordable housing in Corner Brook. Mayor Pender recently suggested in the media that students themselves should construct housing to address the current housing crisis and that the issue was not one for the municipality to deal with.
“You would be hard pressed to find anyone in the City of Corner Brook who would disagree that there is a major housing shortage,” said Terry Randell, President of Grenfell College Student Union. “We need to work collectively to enhance housing infrastructure for students and others who are on a fixed income. Addressing the need and demand for housing in our city must be a priority. Unfortunately, at this point during the ongoing municipal election, it appears that Mayor Pender has no real plan to deal with this issue.”
The mandate of the GCSU is to represent its members and advocate for student rights and issues. GCSU has no authority, mandate or budgetary ability to develop housing.
“GCSU represents it members on issues such as housing and lobbies for positive change - it does not construct residence facilities. This is clearly a government and institutional undertaking. It would be a step in the right direction if Mayor Pender recognized this and assumed the leadership role expected of him as Mayor to work with the provincial and federal governments to address this serious issue,” said Randell.
According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, vacancy rates currently stand at 2.0% on average for the province. The current vacancy rate of 0.4% for Corner Brook is the lowest in the province.
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For further information, please contact:
Terry Randell 709.637-6200-6132 (office) or 709-640-6042 (cellular)