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Developing a plan to make Canada’s new federal housing plan work?

The destruction of our forest and wetland ecologies will make the planet unlivable. We need housing policies that intensify our use of space within urban boundaries. Photo by Shutterstock

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Earlier this month the federal government released a document called “Solving the Housing Crisis: Canada’s Housing Plan,” which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau touts as “a bold strategy.”

The plan starts with an acknowledgment that this file has been ignored for a long time, by politicians of all stripes and at all levels of government — which is true, but to be fair, this is a wicked problem. It requires an all-hands-on-deck integrated approach. That’s what this could be, with a few tweaks.

For one, the housing plan is missing a goal and a deadline to focus efforts. An appropriate goal would be to aim for all Canadians to be in a home they can afford and that meets their family needs, by 2034. It’s a short timeline for the development industry, but a long time if you are one of the 250,000 Canadians living on the street.

The set of policies in the plan are good, but then Canadians are good at making policies. Unfortunately, we are bad at achieving the hoped-for outcomes. Think of the many times governments have tried to speed up the processing of planning applications, only to find that municipal planning departments just make the process more complex and subvert the policies.

Using the expertise of the private sector is required, but we’ve had very questionable results there too. ArriveCan being the latest, but Phoenix federal pay system being perhaps the most egregious. How do we get private sector results without falling into those procurement traps? We need to attract deep industry knowledge to the public service to make better deals.

The destruction of our forest and wetland ecologies will make the planet unlivable. We need #housing policies that intensify our use of space within urban boundaries, writes @sheenasharp #cdnpoli

The building industry (of which I am part) has deep expertise building housing, and the government has shown that it is — occasionally — capable of harnessing it to deliver results in the public interest. An example of a government program that does this is CMHC’s Apartment Construction Loan Program. It offers better loan rates, including lower risk, in exchange for social goods such as affordability and energy efficiency. The more benefits offered by proponents, the better the rates and conditions. This program uses just enough public money to direct the existing housing industry to produce better results.

The new plan includes protections for renters, which is good, but should also include support for condominium owners. We could make it easier for small buildings like fourplexes to be condominiums so they can be bought and sold separately.

Missing is support for the forms of housing that go beyond having a roof over your head and actively builds community, like community-owned non-profits and owner-occupied co-housing projects. It’s important because balanced non-profit ownership keeps rents reasonable over the long term.

While we’re at it, we need an emphasis on economically unlocking three- and four-bedroom units in multi-residential projects so that families can live comfortably. This is crucial to get the public benefits of strong mixed communities with low servicing costs.

Also missing from this plan is support for bicycles, scooters and the like within their residences, which complements public transit and offers the convenience of cars at a fraction of the cost. We need to consider long-term municipal infrastructure costs and make moves to keep those costs reasonable.

Finally, solving our housing crisis is not in competition for dollars with climate action. This plan can actually drive climate action.

These new homes and renovations need to be emissions-free to meet long-term goals of a decarbonized economy. This means more insulation, better windows, and all-electric heating. Otherwise, we risk a huge renovation bill in 10 years.

The destruction of our forest and wetland ecologies will make the planet unlivable, and the planet is close to the 50 per cent maximum for development. We need to choose policies that intensify our use of space within urban boundaries.

The plan needs more money, but what is the cost of not doing it? For many, it will be years lost living on the street, unable to work. It will mean a strain on the healthcare system. It will be a threat to the rest of the economy as people put all their available resources into rent. It will be people who don’t have a place to start families, and hours wasted commuting.

We need this housing plan; it is essential to creating real value in our economy and our lives. If the Prime Minister is willing to make these changes, it might just happen.

BIO: Sheena Sharp is a licensed architect with 30 years experience, much of it in the design and construction of housing. She is also the principal of Coolearth Architecture inc., a 15 year-old firm which specializes in low carbon design. She is also vice-chair of the board of Toronto 2030 District, a non-profit that focuses on economically decarbonizing buildings.

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