(Ottawa) The housing crisis is such that the Trudeau government is ready to pull out the stick to ensure the mobility of construction workers between provinces. The economic update presented by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland provides an additional $15 billion for the construction of rental apartments.
Canada will need workers to build these 30,000 apartments at a time when there is a labor shortage across the country. The government plans to tackle it on two fronts: through immigration and through negotiations with the provinces. He plans to encourage them to “reduce the administrative formalities” that prevent the displacement of workers “by using federal transfers and other forms of financing.” A finance ministry official confirmed to The Press that the government has not ruled out using the stick if the carrot is not enough. The transfer relating to the labor market amounted to 3.5 billion across the country in 2021-2022. Quebec’s share was 923 million.
Ottawa aims for “full interprovincial labor mobility”. In particular, he wants to use the Red Seal program to prevent a worker from having to have their credentials recognized twice, from one province to another.
In Minister Freeland’s office, it is estimated that the provinces will have an interest in relaxing their rules due to the labor shortage.
The government also prioritizes immigrants who have experience in construction trades such as carpentry, electricity, welding, plumbing and as general contractors. He notes that 1,500 have been invited to settle in the country since May.
Housing is the top priority of this economic update, so much so that the government announced its intention to change the name of the Ministry of Infrastructure to the Ministry of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities.
“For generations, Canada has been a country where if you worked hard, studied, found a good job and put money aside, you could afford a home,” said Minister Freeland. in his speech in the House of Commons. A promise “which is threatened” and which “requires a considerable effort on a national scale”.
Several of the proposed measures had already been leaked to the media in recent days. The additional 15 billion in loans for the construction of apartments for rent from 2025-2026 bring this financing to more than 40 billion. There too, he intends to use his spending power to demand that provinces, territories and municipalities “do their fair share” to increase the housing supply.
The government is also allocating $1 billion over three years to the Affordable Housing Fund. He estimates that this amount will allow the construction of 7,000 new units. He also intends to stimulate the creation of new housing cooperatives by injecting 309 million more for the development program which must be launched by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in 2024.
“Our government truly understands that housing is a pressing concern for Canadians. And housing is linked to the cost of living. This is why we focus on demand, demand and demand,” said Mr.me Freeland at a press conference.
The Canada Infrastructure Bank, which operates as a public-private partnership, will also be called upon to participate in the construction of roads, water pipes, power lines, wastewater treatment plants, pathways for public transportation and cabling for the internet connection necessary for these new buildings.
The government will also crack down on the temporary rental of apartments on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO, not only by refusing tax deductions in provinces and municipalities that prohibit this type of rental from 1er January. A sum of 50 million over three years will be used to help municipalities apply their regulations.
The government will also try to better protect homeowners worried about losing their home when their mortgages are renewed by subjecting financial institutions to a mortgage charter.
Unsurprisingly, the government turned a deaf ear to the demands of the Conservatives who wanted to extend the temporary exemption from the carbon tax on fuel oil to all other types of heating. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had already indicated that there would be no others.
He is sticking to the increase in the supplement for rural communities, which will increase from 10% to 20% from April 2024. This supplement is paid to taxpayers in provinces subject to the federal carbon tax, which is not not the case of Quebec which has its own cap and trade system for greenhouse gases.
The program to encourage people who heat themselves with oil to equip themselves with a less polluting heat pump will cost 500 million until 2026-2027.
Reaction from opposition parties
“We are still hearing promises with billions of dollars for housing, the same promises we have seen for eight years. Eight years [que le gouvernement] promises spending, but it only serves to increase bureaucracy and not housing. »
Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party
“There are no measures with a short-term effect to address the various issues that had clearly been raised. […] The housing crisis is not only happening now, but has been happening for some time. »
Yves-François Blanchet, leader of the Bloc Québécois
“The Liberal government’s proposals are proposals for the future, for a few years, not now. So, these are not the actions necessary to respond to the urgency of the current crisis. »
Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party
Cost of life
The economic update proposes a series of measures to eliminate irritants for consumers, but it does not contain any new measures to reduce the price of groceries. The government intends to give the Competition Bureau more teeth to crack down on “abusive prices” through Bill C-56. Here is an overview of the other measures:
Right to repair: manufacturers will no longer be able to refuse to provide what is necessary to repair devices. The government intends to amend the Competition Act in this direction.
Unwanted fees: Airlines will no longer be able to charge a fee to seat children under 14 next to their accompanying adult. A change will be made to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations.
Elimination of the GST on psychotherapy: the government is eliminating the sales tax on products and services for psychotherapies and counselling. A measure which will cost 50 million over five years, according to estimates from the Ministry of Finance.
Media assistance
The Bloc Québécois asked for an emergency fund of 50 million to put a stop to the bloodletting in newsrooms, but the government instead chose to double the tax credit for journalistic labor from which only the written press. It will increase from 25% to 35% for the next four years and the eligible salary from $55,000 to $85,000, which is equivalent to a maximum of $29,750 per employee. The cost of this measure is estimated at 129 million over five years from 2024-2025. Televisions and radios do not have access to it despite their difficulties. TVA announced a few weeks ago that it was laying off nearly a third of its employees, particularly in its regional newsrooms. The Information Coops are also making cuts. The media sector is hard hit by the loss of advertising revenue which is siphoned off by the Web giants. This phenomenon affects all media from one end of the country to the other. Job losses were also deplored at Bell Media last spring.
No respite for SMEs
Despite the pressure, the terms and conditions for reimbursement of the Canadian Emergency Business Account are not changing. These interest-free loans granted during the COVID-19 pandemic total 49 billion. Small businesses were entitled to a maximum of $60,000. The Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Quebec would have liked the government to push back the reimbursement deadline to January 2025 to obtain a partial write-off of $20,000. The deadline remains January 18, 2024.
15 weeks for adoptive parents
A new employment insurance benefit will be available to parents who adopt a child. They will be allowed 15 weeks to allow them to complete the adoption process, prepare to welcome their child into their home and build a bond with them. The government estimates that 1,700 families will be able to benefit from it annually. The cost of this measure is estimated at 48.1 million until 2028-2029 and 12.6 million per year thereafter.