Policy measures should focus on ensuring a larger inventory and removing the barriers to more housing: Fraser
Freshly sworn-in housing and infrastructure minister Sean Fraser said that preventing newcomers from participating in the housing market will not be an effective solution to Canada’s housing crisis.
The former immigration minister said that policy measures should focus on ensuring a larger stock of housing and streamlining the associated red tape.
“There are no simple solutions, but if we continue to advance measures that help build more stock, that help make sure it’s easier for people to get into the market and make sure we’re offering protections for low-income families, particularly in vulnerable renting situations, we’re going to be able to make a meaningful difference,” Fraser said, as reported by BNN Bloomberg.
“I would urge caution to anyone who believes the answer to our housing challenges is to close the door on newcomers.”
Canada, a country that relies heavily on immigration to grow its labour force, has set an ambitious plan to bring in more than 1.3 million newcomers over the next three years to support its post-pandemic growth.https://t.co/dukgNJOhgp
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) February 15, 2022
Far from depleting already scarce inventory, immigration will instead prove to be a vital contributor to housing supply, Fraser said.
“When I talked to developers, in my capacity as a minister of immigration before today, one of the chief obstacles to completing the projects that they want to get done is having access to the labour force to build the houses that they need,” Fraser said.
“If we encourage cities and communities to build more housing where infrastructure already exists or where it’s planned to be, we’re going to be able to leverage more progress for every public dollar that’s invested.”
