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A B.C. student organization believes one way to ease the province’s housing crunch is to build more on-campus residences at universities and colleges.

However, according to a white paper recently released by the Alliance of B.C. Students, that can only happen if the provincial government removes restrictions that prohibit post-secondary institutions from taking on debt to build capital projects.

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“The provincial government doesn’t even need to do anything — they just need to get out of the way,” said Alex McGowan, chair of the Alliance of B.C. Students.

He said the debt that the universities incur would be serviced by the residency fees paid by students, not taxpayers.

The alliance has also recommended that the government fund 10 per cent of the cost of building student housing to fast-track the process, an investment of approximately $18 million per year for 10 years.

Universities that already have housing and may have waiting lists, such as the University of B.C., Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria, could increase their offerings, while Kwantlen, Capilano, Langara, Emily Carr, Douglas and Vancouver Community College could finally add on-campus residences.