A lonely pizza slice

by Brandon Mayer

I love a good riddle, don’t you? Here’s one: “I am valuable, but I am hated. I am sought after, but I am chased away. I am a basic necessity of life, but I am subjected to scorn and resistance. What am I?” Having trouble answering? No problem, it’s a tough one. The answer is “housing”.

Think about it just for a moment. Housing is one of the most desperately sought after commodities in our current economy. I personally know of several young people working full time hours at decent paying jobs who simply can’t afford to move out of their parents’ house. I was working about 35 hours per week when I moved out of my parents’ house. I was single, had no savings, and absolutely no “allowance” from my parents (which I know some people get well into adulthood). Just me, with those 35 hours per week, and I was able to get an apartment and pay all my bills with money to spare each month. This wasn’t very long ago. What on earth has happened to our economy since then?

This has been written about on several occasions in the Times, but it’s worth explaining again. We simply don’t have enough houses and apartments in Canada. When demand is higher than supply, prices go up. Think of it this way: if you had the last slice of pizza on the planet, you’d be rich. Someone who really likes pizza would undoubtedly give you an exorbitant amount of money for the pizza, just for the chance to savour that one last slice. There wouldn’t be anything innately more valuable about the pizza – same ingredients, same cooking process, same product – but the rarity adds value. The true value of a product or service is measured only by what someone is willing to pay.

Housing has become a lonely pizza slice. Same appliances, same square footage, same amenities… but when there are not enough housing units to go around, a

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Some have bemoaned the recent increase in the carbon tax, which now sits at $65 a tonne, yet the real cost of carbon is far higher than the price we pay at the pump or on our bills for methane or propane. Despite making enormous profits, oil and gas companies have a poor track record in planning to deal with easily foreseeable costs such as cleaning up wells at the end of their useful life, with one recent report estimating the cost of cleaning up Alberta’s oilpatch to be $260 billion. Another recent study reports that the top 21 fossil fuel companies owe over US$200 billion a year in reparations for the damages they are causing around the world.

These are big numbers, but they pale into insignificance when we look at projected future damages. An analysis by the Climate Accountability Institute cal- person who has been looking for a place to live for months will have no problem paying a price that they know is obviously unfairly high, so long as they have the money. This is why there have been some recent cases of houses being sold sight unseen to the highest bidder. When my wife and I bought our house in 2021, we considered it a miracle that we were actually able to negotiate the price. Very few have had that opportunity in recent years.

Thinking back to our lonely and extremely valuable pizza slice, there is only one thing that could drive the unfair price of the pizza down: more pizza slices. That’s how housing works, too. I’m sure I’m not the only one who remembers the days when apartment buildings would have a sign out front as a permanent lawn ornament bearing only the words “apartment for rent” and a phone number. The existence of multiple empty units gives a potential tenant bargaining power. It doesn’t take long for a landlord with vacant units to realize that it’s better to be paid something for them rather than nothing at all, even if the rent being earned is not as high as previously hoped.

In our current economy, it is a privilege for young people to have their own place. People are bunking with friends, couch surfing, or remaining with their parents simply because the alternative is homelessness. This is a reality that can’t last forever. It’s not a happy situation for anyone. I personally know of a few people who have remained in unfavourable living conditions because there is nowhere else to go. A basic necessity like housing should not be for the wealthy only.

Problems are no fun without solutions, aren’t they? The solution to overpriced housing is more housing, much like making a batch of pizza slices would lower the price of the last pizza slice on earth. Is it going to happen overnight? Of course not. Developers know the price they can get for units currently, and so they are going overcharge for them – such is the nature of business. As time passes, however, and an increasing number of housing units get built, we will eventually return to the way things should be, where both landlords and tenants have negotiating power to settle on rent rates that are fair.

Many agree that supply and demand is the main determinant of housing prices, and most agree that housing affordability is a hugely important issue both locally and nationally. Why then, do we scream at developers to go away any time they come within 10 kilometres of our borders? We want housing, but we don’t want it near us. We want young people to be able to live normal, independent lives, but we don’t want to give them anywhere to do so. We want more stores and amenities, but we resist having new neighbours in our community to help keep these resources open. My only question is… why?

Kemptville is growing, and it’s growing at a huge rate. Kemptville is a hub for many people in the general area. It is the “I’m going into town to pick up a few things” destination for people as far away as Chesterville, Merrickville, Osgoode, and other such towns. As much as long time locals will always want to hold on to Kemptville’s small town feel, it’s time to accept that Kemptville is the hub, and smaller villages like Oxford Mills, Burritt’s Rapids and Heckston are the communities of choice for people who prefer a quieter lifestyle. culates that the global fossil fuel industry could be responsible for a staggering US$23 trillion in lost GDP from climate impacts cumulatively by 2050.

More housing is coming to Kemptville. A lot of it, in fact. Existing residents deserve a say in the aesthetics and logistics of new projects, but to simply chase projects away would be irresponsible. Let’s not forget that for every knee-jerk protest raised about every potential housing project, someone, somewhere, may be facing the prospect of a winter without four walls and a roof. Be grateful for what you have, and take the time to see the bigger picture. Someone will thank you someday.

In recent weeks we have seen huge wildfires in BC and Alberta, with tens of thousands forced to flee their homes, air quality that made it dangerous to be outside, and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith forced to request assistance from the federal government. Over 35,000 people were made homeless in Italy after six months’ worth of rain fell in 36 hours on land that had been dried out by a drought. On our current course to hit 2.7C of heating we could see up to 1 billion people migrating to cooler places.

The truth is we currently pay far too little for fossil fuels and a recent internal estimate by the federal government has placed the social cost of carbon at $261 per tonne. Increasing the price of carbon strengthens the economic case for alternatives and will spur investment in renewable energy. Supports need to be in place for those at the lower end of the income scale, but moving away from fossil fuels will save us all money – just imagine not having to pay to fuel your car, or not having to pay for hydro or heating.

Doug Ford is expanding fossil fuel infrastructure, building new dirty fossil gas plants and investing in expensive and unproven carbon capture and storage schemes. Ontario Greens have a plan for investing in cleaner, cheaper, and safer energy, and to scale up incentives to make retrofits, heat pumps, and EVs more accessible for everyday people.

Steve Gabell

Dear Editor,

In regards to the “New development, new complaints” article in the last edition of this newspaper, which was about the proposed development at Pinehill and CR43, there was a lot of ink spent complaining about people not turning up to public meetings, but maybe they, like me, failed to notice anything in the NGT telling us about this meeting. That isn’t to say that it didn’t happen, I don’t know, but could I suggest that there be a special area in your newspaper devoted to upcoming public meetings, so that those of us who are interested could be made aware? Local newspapers in communities that I have lived in before have done this, and I have always found this useful.

So, just like Reuben Crescent, this developer is asking for even more increased density, while balking at providing the percentage of affordable housing that our official plan requires. I was wondering how long it would take the development industry to latch on to the fact that we now, after the debacle of the Reuben Crescent decision by our municipal council, appear to be open to whatever the developer asks and wants.

One odd thing that I have noted about this Council, is that they all appear to be of the same mind. I have never seen that before in any municipal council, as there usually are one or two members who see things differently. I believe that to be a good thing, as it facilitates the discussion of different viewpoints. I find this trait mildly disturbing; nobody questioning decisions.

I am also reminded of the proposed jail here in Kemptville, where the Provincial government promised an open process. The process has been anything but open, so citizens groups have had to go to bat for the community, at some considerable personal expense while our municipal council does nothing to hold Ford and Clark to their promises. Am I seeing a pattern here?

Colin Creasey, Kemptville