(Ottawa) The Trudeau government continues to outline the contents of the budget which will be tabled in approximately two weeks. On day five of this operation, Wednesday, new measures on housing accompanied by envelopes of several billions, in the form of loans, were on the menu.
While in Toronto, once again, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a trio of initiatives aimed at improving access to housing.
First, the government will add an additional $15 billion to the Apartment Construction Loan Program to build at least 30,000 new apartments.
With this supplement, the program should allow the construction of more than 131,000 new apartments in the next decade, according to a government press release.
“This will boost the construction of affordable housing,” enthused Justin Trudeau, who was in the company of Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and Housing Minister Sean Fraser.
The loans that will be granted through the program will be at advantageous rates, he specified.
Secondly, the budget which will be presented on April 16 will propose the creation of the Building in Canada program – yet another one which will require partnerships with the provinces and territories.
“We will of course continue to work in partnership with Quebec,” indicated the Prime Minister, who was treated to a round of greenhorns from the Quebec government after his first announcement on housing.
To get the money from Ottawa, provinces and territories will have to meet certain requirements. We are talking, in particular, about supplementing federal funding and reducing project approval times.
Finally, the budget will contain reforms to the Apartment Construction Loan Program to increase access to the program and encourage construction.
This includes extending loan terms, expanding access to financing to include housing for students and seniors, and supporting proven builders.
Thanks to the budget, it will be “easier, cheaper and faster to build more housing in Canada”, and the housing market will be “more equitable for each generation”, declared Justin Trudeau.
Pre-budget stripping not finished
The pre-budget announcements of the last few days represent several billion dollars in investments.
Three of the five announcements focused on housing, one on children’s services, and one on a national school feeding program.
The Prime Minister and his ministers, who are making the same announcements almost simultaneously, across the country, are expected to continue at the same pace for a few more days.
Federal MPs return to Ottawa next Monday, after two weeks spent in constituencies, which left the field open to the Prime Minister and his ministers in recent days.