If you are lucky enough to not have been impacted by the housing crisis, then perhaps you have seen the hundreds of distraught Canadians posting on social media about Canada’s cost of living and housing availability crisis. It should be clear that anything the government has been doing for the last few years, perhaps a decade, could not possibly be conducive to a better world for the Canadians. The National Housing Accord, the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, the PLACE Centre, and REALPAC, in a report titled A Multi-Sector Approach to Ending Canada’s Rental Housing Crisis, have made ten recommendations for the federal government to serve as a place to start repairing things. Let’s discuss these ten recommendations and talk about them from the perspective of the Canadians involved in this crisis.The report recommends an industrial strategy; the government must work towards increasing the number of affordable units to accommodate primarily the low-income population most affected by the crisis. They specifically state that “restoring affordability will require tripling home building over the next seven years,” where they assert the federal government has to take the reins and start working closely with different members of the sector, such as builders.Let’s summarize the ten recommendations here. The first states that all levels of government and different areas of the real estate sector to see what course of action can be reasonably sought out. This also ensures everyone is on the same page about things such as what constitutes affordability. Learning more about the actual sector itself will equip government officials with more knowledge and data to make an educated decision.The second recommendations states that the government should help promote the labour force required to reach their target number of units. This includes increasing the training for Canadians as well as new immigrants. Their reports state that the demand for skilled workers is higher than the existing force. This point can be debated.The third recommendation involves taxes; specifically, reformation and “eliminating GST/HST on purpose-built rental housing to incentivize construction.” The fourth recommendation is to “provide low-cost, long-term fixed-rate financing for constructing purpose-built rental housing” and to upgrade existing units to make them more accessible and energy efficient.The fifth states that the government should create an innovation strategy, specifically one that contains push, pull, grow, and strengthen policies. The sixth also regards innovation; that the federal government should amend the building code to promote innovation and productivity and provide incentives for municipalities. A flavour of this was tried in the late 1960’s and 1970’s. The results often left poor quality builds that took years to repair. Aluminum wiring comes to mind.The seventh recommendation is to speed up the “CMHC approvals process which can include a Code of Conduct for Builders and a catalogue of pre-approved designs to allow for the fast-tracking of purpose-built rental housing.” Number eight aims to promote the conversion of empty office and hotel spaces to affordable housing units.Recommendation nine looks like we are finally getting somewhere; they suggest the Homeless Prevention and Housing Benefit, to “provide immediate rental relief to up to 385,000 households at risk of homelessness, help 50,000 people leave homelessness and reduce pressure on Canada’s overwhelmed homeless systems.”The tenth suggestion is to replace the Canada Housing Benefit with a Portable Housing Benefit, one that takes into consideration one’s rent when assessing need.Many of these suggestions involve “behind the scenes” work that many Canadians struggling aren’t immediately aware of. It is not until the final two suggestions where direct impacts can be made. Of course, we cannot jump right into something and expect immediate change. We can see from the first several recommendations that there are several levels of the sector involved, and that each action from the government must go through each of those levels in order to make data-driven, informed policy changes.&nbsp;Furthermore, some of the more direct fixes serve as a “Band-Aid fix” ones that do not solve the root issue. While these benefits and homelessness initiatives would make a world of a difference to those struggling, we need to make sure we are also looking into the future. Where do we want to see these people five to ten years from now? Other social services and initiatives that focus on helping homeless people find attainable jobs and acquire necessary education and training for these jobs will work best coupled with these monetary and housing benefits.While thoughtful, the recommendations are to certain degree repeating history and expecting a different outcome. Virtually every problem seen in our housing market today was either caused by poor government policies or made worse by well-intentioned governments. Given that, it is unlikely that the government alone can save us.The housing crisis poses a unique challenge, as everyone seeks a painless resolution. Supply is often touted as the solution, but what is its purpose? To slow price increases? Halt them? Slightly decrease prices? Or perhaps crash them? In most scenarios, increasing supply alone won't suffice, and it could even create new problems.Housing affordability means enabling an average individual to afford a home. With taxes consuming a growing portion of Canadians' take-home pay, saving for a down payment, let alone managing homeownership costs, becomes increasingly challenging. If governments aim to assist, they must create conditions that foster success. This entails creating an environment where businesses thrive and where Canada attracts the brightest talents and immigrants. This means reducing taxes at all levels, living within financial means, and implementing radical changes in infrastructure development, making it faster and more cost-effective. Elevating productivity and wages in Canada is the most effective strategy to combat housing affordability.

A Critical Examination of Canada's Housing Strategy

Explore solutions for Canada's housing crisis, including expert recommendations from the 'Multi-Sector Approach' report in this critical examination article from RIFO

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