(Ottawa) The Trudeau government intends to loosen the purse strings again in its next budget in order to stimulate the construction of new housing.
To this end, he plans to launch a new fund with an envelope of six billion dollars which will be used to build and upgrade essential housing infrastructure such as drinking water supply, wastewater treatment plants, rainwater drainage systems and solid waste management.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the details of this measure during a press conference in Halifax with federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser.
Starting this year, the sum of $1 billion from the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund will be made available to municipalities to respond to the most urgent infrastructure needs that are holding back housing construction.
The rest of the envelope (five billion dollars) will be the subject of negotiations between Ottawa and the provinces and territories aimed at establishing their long-term priorities. But the provinces and territories will not be able to receive a penny from this fund if they do not commit to taking measures deemed essential to accelerate the construction of housing.
Among other conditions, provinces will have to require municipalities to authorize the construction of more intermediate housing, such as duplexes, triplexes, townhouses and other residential buildings on their territory.
Among others, provinces will have to adopt changes to the National Building Code to support more affordable and environmentally friendly housing options. It will also be necessary to use the housing design catalog that the federal government will make public shortly.
Finally, the provinces and territories will have to implement the measures of the buyers’ charter of rights and the tenants’ charter of rights.
Ottawa plans to set a tight deadline for reaching an agreement with the provinces, no later than 1er January 2025. In the case of the territories, the deadline was set for 1er April 2025.
The Trudeau government rejects the idea of granting a right of withdrawal with full compensation, as is often the practice in the case of Quebec which vigorously defends its areas of jurisdiction. In fact, if a province or territory does not sign an agreement by the scheduled deadline, the funds allocated to it will be transferred to the municipal component.
“We need more affordable housing and the infrastructure that supports that housing. That’s why Budget 2024 provides for the construction of more infrastructure and more housing as well as support so that even more Canadians can find a place to call home. We have a fair vision, that of ensuring that communities have the safe, quality housing they need to prosper,” said Justin Trudeau.