The government has reached 179 housing agreements with municipalities
The federal government has announced that about 179 housing agreements with municipalities have been reached, which would aid the construction of around 750,000 homes over the next 10 years.
According to housing minister Sean Fraser, the federal government has been able to finalize each of its deals with municipalities through the use of the housing accelerator fund, its $4 billion scheme to supercharge home construction.
The program offered federal dollars to communities in exchange for alterations to bylaws and regulations in order to boost housing construction.
Excessive red tape has been viewed by many analysts as a chief cause for the current housing shortage, slowing down the processing of permits alongside high development fees seen within municipalities.
The competitive process for funding saw a total of 544 applications, according to the government, although only a third of those were successful.
The Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) says average municipal approval timelines for housing projects in 2022 stretched to as long as three years depending on the city.
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has called for the federal government to push cities to be more amenable to development to alleviate the current housing crisis.
The government has recently been in the spotlight on the housing front after its decision to cancel the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, a program aimed at helping new buyers purchase a home more easily.
