I'm leaving. I can't afford to live here anymore and certainly won't be able to once everybody raises their rents. Fun fact, Nova Scotia has no rent control so won't we be in for a surprise when the contract actually comes in.
As someone who also makes minimum wage and whose rent just went up a whopping 6% (75$/month - $1000/yr - $13 000 for the entire building) I can definitely relate. My landlord is making more in EXTRA rent than I made all of last year. On top of this, I start my job before public transit runs. Therefore I'm unable to live beyond walking distance of my minimum wage job. I cannot afford a car, due to the low wage. My choice is give up my quality of life and stay, find another apartment nearby (which will also be incredibly expensive), or quit my job to find another minimum wage job where rent is cheaper. These are not choices I should have to make. Why doesn't Nova Scotia have caps on rental increases. BC has a 2.5% annual increase. Manitoba 1.5%. PEI 2%. Quebec 2.7%. So why the hell am I getting a 6% increase on a building that is falling into disrepair and paying more for rent than a morgage? So can I expect to live in a nice area living on minimum wage? I could, before my rent increased.
This is not entirely the fault of the police. This is a fault of the greater system as a whole. The real issue here is that there is absolutely nothing better for these kids to do. We need to "attack" the underlying root of these issues and that is the fact that these children need to be occupied by other means. I do admit that the police could have a stronger presence in the area due to the recent increase in swarmings, but as a long term solution we should really look into implementing more community planned activities for youth. I know what I'm suggesting is a tall order, but it is what needs to happen before we allow this situation to escallate. Short term, more police. Long term, mend our communities before we lose them.
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