Only crazy people don’t change their minds.
Justin Trudeau has done a 180 degree on the housing issue.
Earlier this month, he pleaded that housing was not really a federal responsibility, and now his government is deceiving a national summit to stem the crisis.
Arguing that it is for the provinces is a bit late. It was his own government that revived federal action on the housing front.
What he didn’t expect was that between Covid and the inflation that followed, a perfect storm was going to turn this into a national crisis.
“We need to build more, faster,” insists Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
“Action, action, action,” adds François-Philippe Champagne of Innovation to his colleague.
However, the Liberals have no plan. But suddenly understand that their grand ambitions in immigration weigh in the balance.
black hole
Give back to Caesar what is due to Caesar Contrary to Pierre Poilièvre’s accusations, the Trudeau government has long cared about housing!
In 2017 itself, it launched a National Housing Strategy. Huge amounts, $82 billion over 10 years.
However, all experts who have studied various schemes of this strategy come to the same conclusion: it is difficult to navigate.
It’s called the black hole of billions, a common disease in the federal bureaucracy.
It is not easy for the government to fight against the erosion of power.
Talk, talk, talk, talk
We need to open the engine to build 5.8 million houses by 2030 as suggested by CMHC.
Hence the idea of a national summit. By uniting all levels of government, liberals seem to be taking the problem head on. But the idea often masks their own instability.
Force the hand of municipalities? They already have a $4 billion plan for this purpose.
Do you help first time buyers? already implemented.
What’s left? No shortage of ideas. Abolish GST on new units and rental units. Review tax rules to facilitate housing starts. Offer discount financing to builders.
The problem is, it can be expensive. Chests are empty.
However, the longer the Trudeau government delays delivering a coherent plan to respond to the housing crisis, the more precarious its dream of welcoming 500,000 immigrants a year looks.
Critics are mounting in English Canada.
And ministers are feeling the pressure.
The housing minister on Monday hinted at the idea of limiting the number of foreign students entering the country.
The deputy prime minister on Tuesday acknowledged that the viability of the Canadian offer on immigration depends on a solution to the country’s glaring housing shortage.
The awakening will be delayed, some would say.
Liberals always rely on massive popular support for newcomers. Now they compete with Canadians not for jobs, but for a roof over their heads.
Liberals do not have the luxury of being wrong on this front.
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