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Richard Wozny has produced 1,200 studies for the public and private sectors on more than $100 billion worth of real estate projects.

But the Vancouver-based commercial property analyst became acutely aware of the harsh indirect consequences of Metro Vancouver’s real-estate investment boom while being treated for non-smoking lung cancer at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver.

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When the nurses, aides and doctors asked what he did for a living, the president of Strategic Site Economics Ltd. would tell them with a smile: “’My job is to make sure everyone makes the most of their real estate. That means ensuring the top one per cent make ever more money.’”

Given his open demeanour, hospital staff would soon start telling Wozny about their own housing difficulties — about not being able to live comfortably in Metro Vancouver, regardless of their income. Even relatively well-paid doctors were struggling.