Tag Archives: AirBnB

Housing, Poverty

A remote Canadian island makes history in fight for affordable housing

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A remote Canadian island is breaking ground on a new way to buffer the negative effects short-term vacation rentals have on the housing crisis facing small, rural tourism-based communities. 

B.C.’s Cortes Island is making housing history as the first community in the province to tax short-term holiday rentals and have all the funds directed to affordable housing projects, said Mark Vonesch, the area’s Strathcona Regional District director. 

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Community

2023 Cortes Social Profit Gathering

Originally published by the Cortes Foundation

A woven tray of fresh flowers is making its way around the circle of 50 or so participants in the Social Profit Gathering held mid-June on Cortes Island, BC. Co-organizer Manda Aufochs Gillespie (Cortes Island Community Foundation, Folk U), has kicked off the day with an address to this land that has continued to provide for human communities since time immemorial. Everyone is invited to take a colorful bloom and connect to this place by holding a piece of it. The other invitation is to co-create the day ahead, building onto the scheduled agenda with collective knowledge, ideas and experience.

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Housing, Politics, Transportation, Waste

Quadra reports coming: residential waste collection, short term rentals, roadside parking 

SRD staff have been instructed to prepare studies on residential waste collection, the legal status of short-term rentals and roadside parking on Quadra Island. These topics arose at the Electoral Areas Services Committee (EASC) meeting on May 10th. Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney made the following motions, all of which were seconded by Cortes Island Director Mark Vonesch.   

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Housing, Politics

BC Government approves 3% tax on Cortes Island short term rentals

On May 16, Mark Vonesch, Regional Director for Cortes Island issued a press release stating, “I’m excited to let you know that the provincial government has approved Cortes Island’s short term rental tax application. Starting on July 1st, tourists will pay an extra 3% on their short term rental bookings and the funds will be collected by the provincial government and sent to the Cortes Housing Society on a monthly basis to contribute to the development of Rainbow Ridge rental housing.”

“This is the first time in BC history that a community is using the tax entirely for housing and the provincial government had to amend their legislation to make it possible.”

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Housing, Politics, Poverty

Housing on Cortes: an Interview with Mark Vonesch (part two)

Currents interviewed Mark Vonesch in early December. This is the second half of that interview, in which we dig a lot more deeply into issues related to housing on Cortes and in the local area: homelessness, employment, property values, AirBnB and much more.

We present here some excerpts from nearly 30 minutes of audio. Our interview covered quite a bit more ground: homelessness in Campbell River, and their approach to it; property tax structures and how they could be made more equitable; the related issue of a real estate market in which, as with rent, locals cannot compete with tourists and rusticators; the fundamental problem of treating housing as a speculative investment commodity. We recommend listening to the entire podcast for the most complete information.

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