Provincial governments see program as intrusion into their jurisdiction as Housing Minister Sean Fraser says Ottawa is prepared to go around provinces that don’t agree to the fund’s conditions
The program, announced Tuesday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, would require provinces to agree to a list of conditions to access the money, including eliminating single-family zoning and allowing fourplexes by default.
Mr. Trudeau has previously faced pushback on other housing-related policies, including the Housing Accelerator Fund, which imposed similar requirements on municipalities and prompted premiers to threaten to use legislation to prevent Ottawa from dealing directly with local governments.
But Housing Minister Sean Fraser said the government is prepared to go around any provinces that don’t agree to the fund’s conditions, which also include freezing development charges and adopting changes to the national building code.
1 obstacle to building homes is a lack of housing infrastructure, but a spokeswoman pushed back on imposing blanket zoning rules to access the money.
“We think it’s critically important to tie infrastructure funding to a clear commitment to build housing, to respond to the needs of the people of British Columbia,” he told a news conference.
Meanwhile, Matti Siemiatycki, director of the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, wondered whether billions of dollars would be enough to persuade provinces to change their approach.
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The program, announced Tuesday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, would require provinces to agree to a list of conditions to access the money, including eliminating single-family zoning and allowing fourplexes by default.
Mr. Trudeau has previously faced pushback on other housing-related policies, including the Housing Accelerator Fund, which imposed similar requirements on municipalities and prompted premiers to threaten to use legislation to prevent Ottawa from dealing directly with local governments.
But Housing Minister Sean Fraser said the government is prepared to go around any provinces that don’t agree to the fund’s conditions, which also include freezing development charges and adopting changes to the national building code.
1 obstacle to building homes is a lack of housing infrastructure, but a spokeswoman pushed back on imposing blanket zoning rules to access the money.
“We think it’s critically important to tie infrastructure funding to a clear commitment to build housing, to respond to the needs of the people of British Columbia,” he told a news conference.
Meanwhile, Matti Siemiatycki, director of the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, wondered whether billions of dollars would be enough to persuade provinces to change their approach.
The original article contains 922 words, the summary contains 194 words. Saved 79%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!