Statement by Tim Gray, Executive Director, Environmental Defence
Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Environmental Defence is encouraged by what the Government of Canada has revealed about the “Build Canada Homes” program.
Prime Minister Carney’s commitment to use wood and low-carbon construction, efficient design, and development sites from the “Canada Public Land Bank” are promising. They suggest that the federal government is finally grappling with the real reasons why homes have become scarce and expensive. We are also pleased by the government’s commitment to invest $1.5 billion in acquiring and protecting existing apartment buildings at risk of demolition of concerted efforts to raise rents. There is no path to ending the housing shortage that does not involve preserving more of the multistorey apartment buildings we have, and fixing the car dependent, carbon-intensive building formats and the focus on building in “greenfield” sites that have also been making Canada’s current housing “system” a serious environmental and economic problem.
The scale of this current commitment to build new “direct build”, transitional, and supportive housing (between 4000 and 45,000 homes) is small in comparison with the scale of Canada’s overall need. The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates that Canadians will need about 3.2 million net new homes by 2035. However, we are hopeful that these early developments help drive a desperately-needed shift in where and how all of Canada’s future affordable – and market – housing is built. It can do this by providing a proof of concept for more substantial federal government investments, as well as future market developments, can deliver quality homes more efficiently, with environmental benefits , and lower cost.
To achieve the outcomes the government has promised, Build Canada Homes will need to ensure that the details of development actually align with the principles the Prime Minister highlighted in his announcement.
To maximize efficiency and output, whilst minimizing both cost and greenhouse gas emissions, Build Canada’s “direct-build” homes – and those developed through federal subsidies – must overwhelmingly be in mid-rise, stick frame and mass timber apartment buildings. That means adopting the British Columbia Building Code as an alternative to the existing national building code and using the federal government’s “interjurisdictional immunity” to sidestep the provincial and municipal legal obstacles identified in the Midrise Manual .
Build Canada Homes must also stay focused on the Canada Public Land Bank’s portfolio of suitable development sites inside existing built-up areas. It should resist any pressure to build outside of existing cities and towns, even if the land there is publicly owned. Building “direct build” or publicly-subsidized homes on these “greenfield” sites would squander construction resources that should be used directly for housing on the creation of new roads and services. Even worse, it would create beachheads for private developers to continue precisely the same wasteful development patterns that caused Canada’s housing shortage.
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
– 30 –
For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Karishma Porwal, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca
