Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry

1 day ago

“Peter Gilmer of the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry said “rents have been out of control in Saskatchewan and tenants need protection. Saskatchewan is an outlier when it comes to rent control legislation. Eight out of 10 Canadians live in jurisdictions with rent control, but we do not."

Gilmer said difficulty covering the cost of rent has frequently presented to his office during the course of 2025. “We see so much avoidable human suffering that could be prevented by preventing excessive rents, and that is why we’ve been strong proponents of rent control legislation for many years,” he said.

“But it’s not just low-income on income security programs that we work with— people who have found themselves paying most of their incomes as many cases towards their rent, and sometimes finding themselves unhoused because they can’t keep up with the cost of rent. It is also… an issue for seniors income. It’s an issue for students who are trying to combine school costs with rising rent, and it’s a concern for working families. It would take a full-time wage of $22 an hour for an individual working person to be able to afford a one-bedroom apartment in our largest cities, and still be able to cover all of their other basic needs, but this is a concern that we’re hearing about across the province.”

When asked what the point was of introducing the bill given that the Sask Party has said they would not support rent control, Beck said it is to "raise the voices of the 300,000 renters that we have in this province. and the concerns that they have."

"I know that the Sask Party have been very dismissive of those concerns. We are not. We understand that the cost of living, concerns about affordability, continue to top the number one concern of people right across this province. This is a measure we could take, that the government should take today to offer some relief to people that are struggling."

Government remains opposed to rent control

During Question Period Monday the NDP led off with the issue, but Finance Minister Jim Reiter reiterated in his answers that the government remained opposed to rent control.

Reiter pointed to CMHC numbers showing Saskatchewan year over year for housing starts having a 71 per cent increase, while "NDP BC with rent control" had a reduction of 21 per cent, he said.

"That clearly shows everywhere this is been tried, Mr. Speaker, rent controls end up doing the exact opposite, Mr. Speaker, because investment dries up. People, corporations, individual people that rent houses and rent houses out, don't want to be somewhere where there's rent control, Mr. Speaker. It dries up investment and the exact opposite of what they're trying to achieve happens." ... See MoreSee Less

Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry

2 days ago

"We don't a life to speak of-- we're just basically hanging on financially." "this is what this government has to look at is people can't afford [rent increases]."
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“The Saskatchewan NDP are calling on the province to consider rent control as seniors in Regina reportedly struggle with rising housing costs.

The Official Opposition raised the issue during question period on Monday, claiming that rent has increased consistently over the past eight months.

A recent report from Rentals.ca shows the average rental price in Saskatchewan sitting around $1,400 month.

Despite being the most affordable province to rent in, prices in Saskatchewan are 28.5 per cent higher than they were three years ago, according to the data.

Saskatchewan seeing an increase in rent, according to new report
NDP MLA April ChiefCalf cited the plight of seniors in Regina while speaking with reporters following question period. One of the residents who appeared was Roger Derby.

Derby, who has collected the signatures of 60 of his neighbours in support of rent control, claims his rent has increased 31.8 per cent since moving into his east-end Regina apartment in 2021.

“I’m on a fixed income and so are most of the people in my building. We didn’t earn enough back then to put into our pension to afford the rent increases of today,” he said. “They tell you if you don’t like it you can move, but moving is costly and stressful, especially for seniors. That’s why we look to governments to help.”

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Finance minister Jim Reiter defended the province’s argument that rent control simply does not work.

“While we’re certainly sensitive to what’s happening in inflationary pressures right across the place, including rent control, we don’t believe that that’s the way,” he said. “It doesn’t work. It actually ends up backfiring. It ends up causing less investment in housing and causes rents to come under more pressure.”

Reiter said the province will continue its approach of encouraging investment and getting more housing units on the market, adding that related policies like the secondary suite incentive “are working.”

In extreme cases, Reiter said those who qualify can be assisted by social services in the short-term.

“But the long-term solution is, what’s important here, that’s to get more investment, to get more units on the market.” ... See MoreSee Less

Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry

1 week ago

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Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry

4 weeks ago

WE WANT A PEOPLE’S BUDGET— NO MORE CUTS! This Saturday, Nov. 1 there be a planning meeting to build a People’s Budget ✊🏽 Starting at 4 PM at Malty National (1130 15th Ave.) ... See MoreSee Less

Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry

4 weeks ago

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