Housing cooperatives present a huge potential to the housing stock, not just in Hamilton but across Canada. Co-ops are a popular form of housing all across the world. In some countries cooperative housing makes up over 40 per cent of all housing stock. In Canada, it’s less than one per cent. The Durand neighbourhood, where the Caroline Co-op is, comprises nearly 80 per cent rental units, so there is a lot of opportunity for other buildings to do the same as the Caroline Co-op.

top 4 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] n3m37h@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Fuck capitalism, more socalism!

[–] teppa@piefed.ca 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The Canadian housing market is the worst free market there is, its fully government controlled and hence we have massive shortages.

[–] considerealization@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Afaiu,

a real “Free market” is a myth.
A fully gov. Controlled market is not a free market by definition.
The problem with the Canadian housing market is not government regulation, it is excessive marketization (and not enough of the right kinds of regulation).

[–] teppa@piefed.ca 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

80% of the land in our largest cities is zoned for single family homes. Our developer fees and taxes are also 1/3 the cost of a home and are some of the largest taxes in the world. Bureaucracy takes ages in Canada for permitting, some of the slowest in the world.

Its fully government contricted, basically a form of price controls via single family home exclusivity, and huge taxes to artificially drop property taxes on existing urban sprawl; so of course there would be shortages.