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Tuesday October 25, 2022

October 25, 2022 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday October 25, 2022

Municipal action on affordable housing is in everyone’s interest

The affordable housing crisis in Canada is putting people on the streets or forcing them to live in inadequate or even dangerous housing.

October 15, 2022

Because this crisis is caused by several complex and interrelated factors, it unfortunately can’t be solved with a single magic bullet. We urgently need to accelerate action on affordable housing on four fronts: the construction, acquisition and retention of affordable housing, and housing supports.

The National Housing Strategy is a great leap forward in Canadian housing policy. Much of the funding goes directly to municipalities for construction of new, affordable rental housing units, primarily built and managed by the non-profit sector.

Municipalities need to find ways to accelerate affordable housing construction by streamlining the planning approval process, providing land for affordable housing, reducing or creatively financing development charges — a major cost driver — and helping non-profit organizations develop more homes faster.

But most “affordable” rental housing in Canada (i.e., places with modest rent) is in private market buildings. We can’t possibly build new affordable housing fast enough to compensate for the simultaneous loss of affordable market housing.

December 28, 2021

As a result of processes that inflate rents, the loss of affordable market rental housing has accelerated over the last several years. From 2011-2016, Canada lost 322,000 homes renting for under $750 per month. This extended to a further loss of 230,000 units under $750 from 2016-2021.

Investors seek buildings with below-market rents. As tenants leave (either forcibly or by attrition), owners can substantially increase rents. This inflation is made possible by vacancy decontrol, where rent is only regulated if the same tenant stays in a unit. Once a tenant vacates, rent can raised to whatever the market will bear.

To help preserve affordable properties, non-profit organizations need tools for acquiring existing market rental housing with modest rents. This is much faster than new construction, helps mitigate the erosion of affordable housing stock and avoids the sometimes slow processes for new construction. (The Toronto Star) 

 

Posted in: Canada, Hamilton, Ontario Tagged: 2022-35, candidate, election, encampment, homelessness, housing, Ontario, vote, Winter

Thursday August 26, 2021

September 2, 2021 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 26, 2021

Trudeau promises new incentives worth billions and a tax on ‘flipping’ to help Canadians buy a home

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau today promised a suite of new measures to help Canadians buy a home at a time when a red-hot housing market has made owning property seem like a distant dream for many young people.

April 7, 2017

Speaking to reporters in Hamilton, Trudeau said the real estate market is afflicted by “instability” and “uncertainty” and a COVID-fuelled spike has led to soaring prices, bidding wars, rampant speculation and too many vacant properties. He said the situation demands government intervention to help more people acquire their own homes.

The aggressive plan — billions of dollars in new funding, measures to curb the practice of “flipping” homes, efforts to block foreign nationals from buying homes for two years and new regulatory measures to police exploitative real estate agents — comes at a time when Canadians are telling pollsters that housing is one of the issues they care about most.

September 12, 2019

The three-point program includes commitments to “unlock home ownership” through new government funding, a plan to build more homes to address supply constraints and measures to establish and protect new rights for buyers.

“If you work hard, if you save, that dream of having your own place should be in reach. But for too many people, it just isn’t — and that’s not right,” Trudeau said.

“You shouldn’t have to move far away from your job or school or family to afford your rent. You shouldn’t lose a bidding war on your home to speculators. It’s time for things to change.” 

If the Liberals are re-elected on Sept. 20, Trudeau said, he would introduce a first home savings account which would allow Canadians up to age 40 to save $40,000 toward their first home and withdraw it tax-free when it comes time to buy. Money added to the account would go in tax-free and could be withdrawn without any taxes owing on possible investment gains.

May 7, 2014

He said a Liberal government would double the first-time home buyers tax credit from $5,000 to $10,000 — an incentive that would help with the many closing costs that come with buying property.

“Let’s remember, in 2017, as we launched that national housing strategy, we were starting from a standing start because for the previous ten years a Conservative government decided the federal government had no role to play in housing. That’s wrong,” Trudeau said. “But absolutely, there is more to do — much more to do.”

Trudeau took a swipe at Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole’s housing plan, which commits to building one million new homes over three years while easing mortgage requirements and making more federal land available for development.

May 8, 2008

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, O’Toole said he won’t take lessons from Trudeau on housing.

“Mr. Trudeau’s had six years and he’s failed. The housing crisis has exploded in the last three, four years under his leadership,” O’Toole said. “After six years of inaction, more hollow words today is not what Canadians deserve. They deserve a plan.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was equally critical, saying the situation has only gotten worse in the last six years under Trudeau.

Federal Election 2021

“Housing has become more expensive. Renting has become more expensive. We can’t handle another four years of this,” Singh said at a campaign stop in Mississauga, Ont., where he announced a plan to nationalize Revera, the country’s largest for-profit long-term care home operator.(CBC) 

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: 2021-29, 24 Sussex, Canada, election2021, encampment, homelessness, housing, Justin Trudeau, Poverty, Rideau cottage, Rideau Hall

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Please note…

This website contains satirical commentaries of current events going back several decades. Some readers may not share this sense of humour nor the opinions expressed by the artist. To understand editorial cartoons it is important to understand their effectiveness as a counterweight to power. It is presumed readers approach satire with a broad minded foundation and healthy knowledge of objective facts of the subjects depicted.

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