Longtime Richmond resident and former B.C. cabinet minister Olga Ilich has accepted Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson's post as co-chair of his new housing affordability task force.
"I've been advocating for affordable housing for years, that is my background," said Ilich, when the News reached her at her home Tuesday morning.
"Back in the early 1980s, I enjoyed a lot of satisfaction from building social housing.
"When the mayor asked me, I thought, I could do this."
The founder and president of Richmond-based Suncor Development Corporation, a real estate development construction company, and former executive vice-president of Progressive Construction Ltd., Ilich said her first task as co-chair is to enlist others to sit on the task force which will comprise of people from academia, the private sector, federal and provincial governments and nonprofit organizations.
The group will look into various forms of affordable housing as well as affordable home ownership.
"We need to look at a full range of housing in the city," she said of her six-month post.
Ilich was first elected to the legislature in 2005, representing Richmond Centre until 2009. While in the Liberal government, she served as labour minister and tourism minister.
Over the years, Ilich has held posts in both the private and public sectors, including as a member of the City of Surrey's development advisory committee and the provincial government's advisory committee on public-private partnerships,
She has also been a member of the provincial task force on public-private partnerships, the federal Business Development Bank's regional advisory council and the City of Richmond advisory planning commission.
The lack of affordable housing isn't just a Vancouver issue, Ilich added.
"We have it right here in Richmond," she said.
"My children have lived in Richmond all their lives and they can't afford to live here."
