Source From: Investing.com By Ketki Saxena
As the Canadian housing crisis sends rents soaring, pushes house prices into a tailspin of unaffordability, and worsens a homelessness problem, a roundtable of housing specialists from both private and non-profit arenas has set forward an action plan of ten recommendations and eight strategies for the Federal Liberal government to implement in order to bring Canadian housing back under control.
The outcomes of the roundtable are encapsulated in a report that the policy experts describe as - "a series of rapidly actionable recommendations for the 2023 Fall Economic Statement and Budget 2024", and eight strategies for the federal government to implement.
Despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's recent assertion that housing is not a primary federal responsibility, the report notes that it is in fact the Federal Government that "must lead the way through a coordinated effort with key stakeholders – including not-for-profits and the private sector – while accounting for resources, financial viability of building supply productivity innovation to reach targets along with creating conducive regulatory environments all while closing gap affordable housing."
The report also touches on the Liberals' National Housing Strategy Act of 2019 and in no uncertain terms notes that "Under the current conditions, [these commitments] will not be met."
"Restoring affordability will require tripling home building over the next seven years" - which does not appear a feasible goal.
Instead, the report outlines 10 recommendations that are feasible goals, and which it suggests the Federal Government carry out with an urgency.
Recommendation 1: The Federal Government must create a coordinated plan between the three orders of government (federal, provincial, and municipal), and must include an Industrial strategy involving public and private builders, non-profit housing sector representatives, Indigenous housing specialists, investors and labour unions. The strategy should target accountability measures, enhanced data collection, and robust, frequent population forecasts.
Recommendation 2: The Federal government must help create a national workforce immigration strategy including construction, trades, and other employment classes related to housing production.
Recommendation 3: Federal aid must support the reforming of CMHC fees and tax system, review changes around capital cost provisions, and eliminate GST/HST fees currently levied on purpose-built rentals to incentivize construction.
Recommendation 4: The federal government must provide low-cost, long-term, fixed-rate financing for constructing purpose-built rentals, and also finance upgrades to existing buildings to make them more accessible, climate-friendly, and energy-efficient.
Recommendation 5: To ensure innovations achieve scale, the Federal Government should develop a robust innovation strategy and alter its current procurement policy.
Recommendation 6: The Federal Government must assist reform in the National Building Code to drive innovation within the homebuilding sector.
Recommendation 7: The governments should streamline the approval process of code adherence with builders, including pre-approved design catalogs in order to fast-track rental property constructions.
Recommendation 8: The governments should facilitate office-to-residential conversions or acquisition of existing projects by non-profit providers without relegating them with a significant debt burdening them, and instead consider innovative financial mechanisms like capital grants or secondary debt financing need consideration.
Recommendation 9: The Federal Government should institute a Homelessness Prevention benefit that could provide immediate relief to households at risk whilst reducing pressures faced by homeless care systems across Canada.
Recommendation 10: The final recommendation suggests reforms targeting individuals/families most in need via by augmenting the current benefits system with Portable Housing Benefits (PHBs).
View the full report here.
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