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September 18th, 2019

Liberals Attack Independent Parliamentary Budget Office for Criticizing their Housing Plan

In June, the independent Parliamentary Budget Officer said that the Liberal housing plan “largely maintains current funding levels for current activities and slightly reduces targeted funding for households in core housing need… It is not clear that National Housing Strategy will reduce the prevalence of housing need relative to 2017 levels.” (Toronto Star)

In fact, the report shows that Trudeau’s spending on affordable housing is 19% less than under Harper’s plan as a percentage of GDP. (PBO, Page 4)

Now Adam Vaughan, Justin Trudeau's housing lead, is attacking the independent Parliamentary Budget Officer.

But it’s not just the PBO that says the Liberals have fallen short. Housing experts like University of Toronto Professor David Hulchanski agree:

“The Liberal Party and even CMHC have mixed all these together into big sounding amounts, as if a great deal is happening. But not much is happening in terms of meeting housing need and existing spending on housing remains at a historically low percentage of the federal budget.”

And earlier this year, Justin Trudeau and Adam Vaughan admitted they “double counted to rhetorical advantage.”

Canadian Rental Housing index numbers released yesterday show that in Adam Vaughan's own riding of Spadina Fort York, a median income renter is spending 56% of their paycheck on rent for a 2 bedroom apartment, leaving little behind for necessities like groceries, health care or child care.

NDP Candidate Diana Yoon:

"Justin Trudeau and Adam Vaughan say they will be there for Canadians, but turn around and give tax breaks to their rich friends instead of investing in the housing people need. Now, they’re attacking independent officials to try to cover it up. Jagmeet Singh's New Deal for People would build 500,000 new housing units to make life more affordable for all renters.”