The Irony of “Affordable Housing”: CEOs Making Millions While People Freeze on the Streets

 💸 The Irony of “Affordable Housing”: CEOs Making Millions While People Freeze on the Streets

Across British Columbia, the homelessness crisis is worsening, and small towns like Smithers are on the front lines. With no overnight shelter and supportive housing still a year away, people are left sleeping outside in freezing temperatures, exposed to violence, disease, and addiction.

Meanwhile, the agencies tasked with solving these problems are paying their executives handsomely.

• BC Housing: CEO Vincent Tong earns a high six-figure salary, with recent increases of 6.75%.
• CMHC: Top executives received over $4 million in combined salaries and bonuses in 2023, with individual bonuses exceeding $80,000.

Now, consider the people these organizations are meant to serve:

• Someone on social assistance in B.C. earns roughly $600/month.
• Many cannot access supportive housing because programs are limited, overbooked, or have restrictive rules.
• The result? Thousands forced onto the streets, facing drug addiction, hypothermia, and death.

The contrast is staggering: top executives thriving with comfort and security, while those who need housing most are literally freezing on the streets. The very system meant to protect vulnerable citizens is failing them — yet the people at the top continue to collect enormous salaries and bonuses.

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❄️ Winter Is Coming — Who Will Survive?

• What if it were you?
• Your child? Your mother? Your sister?
• Who would care if you were on social assistance, sleeping outside, exposed to cold and addiction?

These aren’t just numbers — these are human lives being ignored while bureaucrats prosper.

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🛠️ We Need Immediate Action

The government must:

1. Increase and fast-track supportive housing so people aren’t left out in the cold.
2. Prioritize shelter and rehab access for those on social assistance.
3. Reconsider executive compensation when public programs fail to serve those in need.

It’s a moral failure that must be addressed. If we allow these disparities to continue, we are actively participating in a system where wealth and power are rewarded, and the vulnerable die outside our sight.

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🔗 Learn More and Take Action

Support advocacy groups, donate to shelters, or write to your local representatives. Everyone deserves a safe place to sleep.

#HomelessnessCrisis #BCFail #SocialJustice #WinterIsComing #ActNow #SupportiveHousing #BCHousingFails #CMHCFails