Editor:
I was stunned to see the living wage study that judged a living wage to be $19.79 an hour on the Sunshine Coast. That is only an increase of 0.54 an hour from the 2015 report.
You can run all kinds of numbers in circles but anyone who has lived here for any length of time and has had to look for a rental home, it appears as some kind of horrible joke.
The cost of housing of all kinds has skyrocketed out of control and there is an acute shortage of decent and affordable rentals. It seems that every month or so I am hearing from friends and acquaintances asking everyone they know if they have a lead on a rental.
No doubt speculation and short-term rentals play a significant part in this crisis. We are all greatly affected by this dynamic as so many businesses and essential services all struggle to get enough workers and often the greatest barrier is decent housing.
No simple answers but it sure seems long overdue to get the short-term rental bylaws in place as one starting point or we will further see our community break down in ways that none of us want to see.
Alan Sirulnikoff, Gibsons
