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Justin Trudeau unveils Liberal plan for Canada housing crisis

Published

5 months ago

April 12, 2024

The federal Liberals have unveiled their plan to solve the housing crisis, building on recent announcements with new tax incentives, more than a billion dollars for homelessness and a country-wide effort to build more housing on public lands.

The 28-page document, which comes days ahead of the federal budget, is the minority government’s latest effort to set the agenda on affordability as it loses significant ground to the Conservatives over cost-of-living issues.

Ottawa is also sending a message to provinces, territories and municipalities that they too will need to step up, dubbing the plan a “call to action.”

“There’s no way that one level of government is going to solve the national housing crisis on their own,” said Housing Minister Sean Fraser in an interview.

“But if we work together … and create incentives to encourage each other to actually adopt policies that will help us get us to where we need to be, I know that we can accomplish this extraordinarily important task.”

The Liberals’ plan promises to tackle the spectrum of housing affordability challenges Canadians face, from the out-of-reach dream of homeownership to skyrocketing rental costs to homelessness.

While much of the plan was announced during the government’s pre-budget tour or even prior to that, several new measures are laid out in the document, including expanded tax incentives for homebuilding.

The federal government intends to increase the capital cost allowance rate for apartments from four to 10 per cent, which will increase how much builders can write off from their taxes.

It’s also extending the GST exemption on rentals to student residences built by public universities, colleges and school authorities.

The plan also earmarks more money to tackle homelessness as communities across the country struggle with encampments and limited shelter spaces.

The Liberal government is topping up the Reaching Homes program, a federal homelessness initiative, with an additional $1 billion over four years.

Another $250 million is allocated to help communities end encampments and transition people into housing. The federal government is asking provinces and territories to match that amount.

The Liberals are also pledging a “historic shift” in how the government uses public lands to build housing, which will involve making more land available for home construction and leasing land as opposed to selling it off.

And they want to restrict large corporate investors from purchasing existing single-family homes.

Other planks of the plan include training more skilled trades workers, easing foreign credential recognition and boosting productivity in the construction industry, measures that would presumably speed up the process of homebuilding.

The implementation of the Liberals’ housing plan will be in part contingent on co-operation from provinces and territories, some of which have already pushed back on the federal government over what they argue is jurisdictional overreach.

Quebec, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick were unhappy with Ottawa’s decision to make access to new infrastructure money contingent on a set of conditions, including legalizing fourplexes.

But Fraser pushed back on those critiques, arguing that Canadians just want their problems solved.

“When people come knock on the door of my constituency office and they have a problem, the last thing that they want to hear is that it’s not my responsibility to help them,” Fraser said.

“So from my point of view, it was important that we do what we can to embrace the challenge and demonstrate to Canadians that even where there may be technical jurisdictional obstacles, that wasn’t going to give us a reason to do anything less than the very best that we can.”

As the Liberals aggressively sell their housing plan, whether it lands with Canadians will depend on whether they still have faith that the incumbent government can solve their problems.

The federal Conservatives, who have have maintained a double-digit lead in public opinion polls since the summer, appear to have successfully convinced a large contingent of voters that the Liberals only make cost-of-living issues worse.

In the wake of the government’s recent housing announcements, federal Conservatives have dismissed them, arguing that pouring more money into “government bureaucracy” won’t solve the housing crisis.

“Trudeau’s been in power for eight years. And he’s been making announcements like that since 2015. What’re the results?” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a recent media interview.

Fraser acknowledged that Conservatives have succeeded at capturing Canadians’ attention on housing, but he said their solutions fall short of what’s needed.

“I think it’s dangerous when politicians seek to prey on the very real anxieties of people without doing anything to help them. It communicates to me that it’s motivated more by their appetite to seize political power than it is to actually help people who are struggling,” Fraser said.

Poilievre has argued that government should get out of the way and let developers build more homes.

His proposed housing plan centres heavily on requiring cities to increase home building by 15 per cent each year to receive their usual infrastructure spending, or see their funding withheld. Those who build more than the target would be eligible for “bonuses.”

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A timeline of events in the bread price-fixing scandal

Published

40 mins ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.

Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.

Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.

Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.

Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.

Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).

Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.

June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.

Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”

Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.

July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.

Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)

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S&P/TSX composite up more than 250 points, U.S. stock markets also higher

Published

40 mins ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 250 points in late-morning trading, led by strength in the base metal and technology sectors, while U.S. stock markets also charged higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 254.62 points at 23,847.22.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 432.77 points at 41,935.87. The S&P 500 index was up 96.38 points at 5,714.64, while the Nasdaq composite was up 486.12 points at 18,059.42.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.68 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was up 89 cents at US$70.77 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down a penny at US2.27 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$9.40 at US$2,608.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.33 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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Quebec premier calls on Bloc Québécois to help topple Trudeau government next week

Published

40 mins ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

MONTREAL – Quebec Premier François Legault says the Bloc Québécois must vote to topple the federal Liberal government next week and trigger an election.

Legault called on Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon to summon the “courage” to ask the Bloc to support the expected Conservative non-confidence motion against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority government on Tuesday.

The Bloc and PQ, which both campaign for Quebec independence, are ideologically aligned and have historically worked together.

But moments later Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said on X that he would not vote to topple Trudeau, saying he serves Quebecers “according to my own judgment.”

Legault made the comments after expressing frustration with what he described as Ottawa’s inaction on curbing the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec, especially asylum seekers.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said he will put forward a motion of non-confidence in the government on Sept. 24, and specifically challenged NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh to back it.

The Conservatives don’t have enough votes to pass the motion with just one of the Bloc or the NDP.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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