Canadians must start to embrace living in high-density settings if they want to help battle climate change, says the CMHC..Blacklock’s Reporter said the federal mortgage insurer said it would help in “unblocking those barriers” that favour construction of single-family homes..“Even though these are all municipal and provincial issues, we feel CMHC has a role in working with various partners to identify the barriers to housing supply creation and to be a constructive partner in unblocking those barriers,” said Romy Bowers, CEO of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation..Testifying at the Senate national finance committee, Bowers said construction of apartment buildings, condos and townhouses was necessary due to climate change..She did not elaborate..“I just want to come back to the idea that there is a clear need in cities for high-density housing construction, but in some areas, municipal councils and developers continue to favour suburban sprawl,” said Sen. Marty Deacon (Ont.)..“What can we do at the federal level to see the higher density urban housing that is needed, as we see it, is what’s being built?”.“We at CMHC are a very big proponent of high density housing in urban centres,” replied Bowers..“We feel that is good in terms of affordability but also in terms of climate change and green initiatives..“When you look at the programs in the National Housing Strategy, most of the programs are supply-based programs that support the creation of rental housing in our large cities.”.Parliament in 2019 passed the National Housing Strategy Act enshrining a “right to adequate housing” in federal law..“We feel that NIMBYism, the development process and zoning issues in the cities are often very significant barriers to creating greater density,” said Bowers..CMHC in a report last December 23 complained “the ‘not in my backyard’ syndrome, otherwise known as NIMBYism, is a potential challenge for implementing some of the aspects of the National Housing Strategy.”.Opponents of high-density affordable housing were typically provoked by “fears of increased crime” or concerns that development “will lead to a devaluation of ‘my’ property,” said the report..“High-income residents usually compose the best organized, best-connected and most forceful NIMBY groups. Resistance to supportive housing also tends to be most prominent in neighbourhoods that are composed of single-family homes.”.“While a high proportion of citizens may support in principle the construction of social and affordable housing in their city, they are often less willing to support, and in some cases oppose, its construction in their own neighbourhoods.”.CMHC commissioned the study in 2018. The final report was completed in 2019 but withheld from the public for eighteen months..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694
