The Liberals failed Canadians on Housing

Canadians are faced with a housing crisis. More and more families are unable to find a place they can afford to call home. And while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently made a claim that his government is building 302 “new affordable rental units” funded by the Rental Construction Financing Initiative (RCFI) in Brampton, Ontario, in reality only 72 of those units meet the Liberal’s version of affordable. To add insult to injury, not only is the number of affordable housing units to be constructed a gross exaggeration, the Liberal government’s definition of “affordable housing” often ends up being hundreds to thousands of dollars above the average market rent depending on the region.

“The Prime Minister is completely out of touch with the reality of people. The Liberals are shamelessly patting themselves on the back for delivering housing that’s even more expensive than the average market rent. In what universe is rent hundreds to over a thousand dollars above the average rent considered affordable? His announcement makes a mockery of the urgent need for safe, secure affordable housing for Canadians. This is just another sad example of how the Liberals’ words fail to match their action,” said Jenny Kwan, NDP Critic for Housing.

According to the most recent data published by CMHC, the 72 units in Brampton that actually meet the Liberal’s version of affordable will cost up to $2,179 per month; while the average market rent for a 2-bedroom apartment in the region is $1,447. It’s scandalous that nearly half of the units promised by the Liberals is expected to come from the RCFI at largely unaffordable above-market rents that are out of reach to Canadians in need of housing. As of August 2020, 90% of the funding finalized under this program has gone to for-profit developers.

 

“This government spends most of their energy making their housing strategy sound  like it’s doing more than it is. It is clear that the Prime Minister’s announcement is just a PR exercise. Despite all their nice words, it’s not enough to hide the disconnect with the reality on the ground, where the cost of housing is increasing at a record pace under their strategy. It is time to stop treating housing as a stock market,” added Kwan.

 

New Democrats have committed to making major investments to build half a million housing units across the country, implement a 20 percent tax for foreign buyers and are exploring a temporary ban on foreign homebuyers to support a cooldown of the housing market. New Democrats continue to call on the Liberals to take aggressive action to limit the influence of capital funds on the housing market and the erosion of existing rental housing. The NDP will work with provincial governments to develop evictions standards and are also calling for a retroactive rental support benefit to help Canadians struggling to pay arrears brought on by the pandemic, as the government has done for commercial rents.