Pedestrians walk past apartment rental buildings in Toronto’s Beach neighbourhood on Mar 11.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Canada needs to treat affordable housing as something that should be universally available, akin to health care, according to a new report to the federal government that calls for preserving lower-cost apartments, building more of them and better supporting renters.
The report was released Wednesday by a review panel of the National Housing Council, which was appointed by and provides advice to Sean Fraser, the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities.
It argues that a shift has taken place in Canada as housing was “targeted as an asset class – a vehicle for wealth and investment.” At the same time, Canada lagged far behind its Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development peers in spending on non-market housing.
“What we’re seeing is an increasing number of people who are unable to afford to stay in housing, or for a variety of other reasons find themselves on the outside looking in,” Sam Watts, chief executive officer of Montreal’s Welcome Home Mission and chair of the review panel, said in an interview.
“Not only that, what we’re seeing, and I have two daughters in their 20s, is that young people … don’t have the same access to housing.”
Among other measures, Mr. Watts and his fellow report authors call for releasing more Crown land for housing, federal assistance for homes that will be kept affordable in perpetuity, helping non-market housing providers own and operate their properties, and exploring the creation of non-market housing bonds.
Recent budget policies introduced by the federal Liberals included rent supplements and money for social housing. Mr. Watts said the report was being finalized before the budget was made public but acknowledged the alignment between its recommendation and the new government policies, which he applauded but argued need to go further.
He noted that this report, unlike those by academics and lobby groups, requires a response. Mr. Fraser received the report earlier in the week and, under the legislation, the minister must respond to the panel and then table it in Parliament.
In a statement from Mr. Fraser’s office, spokesman Micaal Ahmed said the report “will play an important role in informing the implementation of our plan to solve Canada’s housing crisis.”
The new report is the latest in a series of urgent warnings about the housing affordability crisis in Canada. It notes that only 4 per cent of housing in Canada is non-market, meaning that “the majority of housing, including purpose-built rental housing, is used as a financial investment.”
Jennifer Bradshaw, a director of the advocacy group Abundant Housing Vancouver, questioned whether another report was needed.
“We don’t need more reviews, we don’t need more panels, we don’t need more research,” she said. “We all know what’s necessary.”
Still, she said she was glad that the report’s focus on expanding affordable housing didn’t lead to demonizing of the owners of purpose-built rental buildings. She noted research showing that the best way to reduce market housing prices is by adding market supply.
Real estate has risen beyond the reach of many Canadians to afford and rents have spiked, including in smaller cities once deemed to be affordable alternatives.
Polling indicates that Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has tapped into discontent over the situation. The federal Liberals have responded with series of pro-housing policies, including money for cities that speed development and allow greater density.
But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also tried to walk a tightrope, bemoaning the lack of affordability while also arguing that prices mustn’t decline.
“Housing needs to retain its value,” Mr. Trudeau told The Globe and Mail’s City Space podcast recently. “It’s a huge part of people’s potential for retirement and future nest egg.”
Leilani Farha, a lawyer and the former UN special rapporteur on adequate housing, said that the dissonance of Mr. Trudeau’s position comes through in the housing report as well.
“They did a go-around,” she said. “It’s absolutely related to the Prime Minister’s vision … that we’re not going to mess with the way the market is functioning.”
She would have preferred a report that was focused more on the role of landlords and how government can induce them to act better. For example, she said, government could compel the inclusion of affordable units in their portfolios or tie loans to tenant-protection standards.