Re: “ ‘Vacancy chain’ deniers ignore all that proof,” letter, Oct. 14.

Victoria Coun. Dave Thompson doubles down on his defence of the “vacancy chain” theory, and he likens critics to ­climate change deniers.

There is a crucial difference between denying climate science, which is backed by decades of global scientific data, and questioning the effectiveness of vacancy chains in Victoria, where local evidence tells a different story.

Vacancy chains are a theoretical model, and in Victoria, the theory doesn’t seem to apply, and the chain appears ­broken.

New units are too expensive for most residents, limiting who can “move up,” evidenced by high vacancy rates in the new buildings.

Noted in several recent letters, data show rents for vacated units are rising to reflect higher market values. This is exactly why the provincial government had to strengthen renter protection laws, so landlords would be deterred from evicting tenants for invalid reasons, ­enabling them to increase rents to higher levels.

It’s also the reason Coun. Stephen Hammond introduced a motion to increase compensation for renters who have been evicted to make room for more expensive housing.

Affordability is not improving. Even the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. notes in its reports that landlords are offering incentives for new units, indicating weak demand at the top of the chain, a detail Thompson left out of his letters.

Thompson likens the vacancy chain critics to climate change deniers, but the cause-and-effect evidence is not on his side; it’s on the critics’ side.

Gerry Anderson

Victoria

Re: “ ‘Vacancy chain’ deniers ignore all that proof,” letter, Oct. 14.

Wow. Who would have thought that a ­person could be a vacancy chain denier? As a vacancy chain skeptic, I felt ­compelled to take a deep AI dive via a Google search into the phenomenon of vacancy chains, and now I feel quite ­educated on the subject.

For instance, did you know the ­following:

• The term vacancy chain has been ­criticized for its “theoretical assumptions and methodological limitations.”

• The concept of vacancy chains fails to recognize “stochastic equilibrium” (not sure what that is, but it sounds serious).

• Certain experts in the field prefer the “vacancy transfer” method of analysis, as it is better suited to “ascertaining the beneficial impact of housing turnover for particular subgroups of the population” (are these experts actually deniers or maybe even conspiracy theorists?)

• Hermit crabs, anemone-dwelling ­clownfish and cavity-nesting birds have........

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