Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre announced this week the Conservatives would push for a parliamentary vote on a mandate requiring municipalities to issue 15% more home-building permits yearly or risk losing federal subsidies..“More home building, more money,” said Poilievre. .“Less home building, less money.”.“The bill I will introduce next Monday will force municipalities to increase the number of housing units allowed by 15%, or else they will lose federal infrastructure funds,” Poilievre told reporters. .“Second, municipalities that succeed in going over 15% will receive a bonus to incentivize the quicker delivery of building permits.”.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Parliament is scheduled to begin the fall session on September 18, following a three-month summer recess. Poilievre said he expects unanimous consent from all political parties for his bill..“We are building fewer houses than we did in 1972,” said Poilievre. .“In 1972, with 22 million people, we built 232,000 homes. Last year, we built 219,000. This year, housing construction is down again 32%.”.Poilievre stated his private bill would also make the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) approve financing for all affordable housing within 60 days or executives would forfeit their annual bonuses..“I will be slashing all of their bonuses and they will be getting pay cuts unless they meet the target,” said Poilievre..Access to Information records, previously acquired by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, indicated CMHC has been granting $25.5 million in annual bonuses to most of its 2,100 staff members, equivalent to approximately $11,600 annually for each employee..In a June 23 2022 report, CMHC estimated the country needed to construct an additional 3.53 million homes by 2030 to restore affordability..The agency reaffirmed its forecast on Wednesday in the report Housing Shortages in Canada: Updating How Much Housing We Need by 2030..“We are still projecting 3.5 million additional housing units will be needed,” wrote analysts. .“However, the size of the supply gap has changed across provinces.”.The original CMHC forecast followed testimony by Canada’s chief bank inspector on March 3 2022 the housing supply had a "structural mismatch" equivalent to a shortfall of about 40,000 homes annually. The figure was based on immigration and demographic trends alone..“I do worry about the structural mismatch,” Peter Routledge, superintendent of financial institutions, testified at the Senate Banking committee. .“We have new Canadians arriving and young Canadians leaving home and creating households with about 250,000 households being formed every year in Canada,” said Routledge. .“However, we’re probably completing 200,000 to 210,000 houses every year.”.In 2019, Parliament passed the National Housing Strategy Act to provide more affordable housing..As of May 5, the cabinet's Inquiry of Ministry tabled in the Commons revealed that only 106,377 homes have been funded under the Act so far.
