Justin Trudeau remains convinced that part of the solution to the housing crisis and the labor shortage in the construction sector lies in welcoming a greater number of immigrants.
While passing through Saint-Jean, New Brunswick, on Wednesday to announce the granting of a little more than $9 million for the construction of 285 new housing units within three years, the Prime Minister was asked how he expected to achieve this objective in a context of labor shortage in this sector.
Mr. Trudeau responded without hesitation that we had to “look at how we can accelerate the certification of workers and bring in people who will be able to get to work right away to build houses for the community.”
“We know that immigration is part of the solution. We must do it, we must continue to do it responsibly,” he added.
The day before, before the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, Justin Trudeau had reaffirmed his intention to increase the annual number of immigrants to 500,000 while expressing his desire to regain control over temporary immigration, more specifically students. foreigners and temporary workers who, he says, have more of an impact on the housing crisis. He also invited higher education institutions and businesses to find housing solutions for these temporary residents themselves.
The Canadian Press revealed last week that an internal analysis by officials at the federal Immigration Department had warned the Government of Canada two years ago that high levels of immigration would have an impact on access to housing.
Government Higgs Policy 713
Mr. Trudeau was also asked about “Policy 713” of the Conservative government of Blaine Higgs in New Brunswick, which requires children under 16 to obtain parental consent before being able to change their first name or pronouns. at school.
Without directly naming Blaine Higgs, Justin Trudeau lamented that “unfortunately we see, in certain parts of the country and in certain political parties, attempts to exploit divisions or intolerance for political advantage.”
He trumpeted that “Canada is the best country in the world in part because Canadians respect each other. In Canada, people are free to be who they are and to love who they love,” an idea that “our party and, frankly, millions of Canadians will always defend.”