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1. Ontario government proposals could boost housing supply, increase affordability

   The Ford government recently announced the broad strokes of its “ housing supply action plan ” aimed at getting a greater number and variety of much-needed homes built in Ontario’s least affordable communities. Though it’s unclear how the ...

2. Another budget, another missed opportunity to tackle B.C.'s housing shortage

   Appeared in the Vancouver Sun, February 25, 2019 With last week’s budget, the Horgan government had another opportunity to increase housing affordability—a perennial concern now embedded in British Columbia’s landscape. Governments come, governments go, ...

3. Ford must back up housing rhetoric with concrete policies

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, January 3, 2019 As a new year approaches, the Ford government recently vowed to tackle housing affordability by growing the housing supply and asking the public for input on how to reduce regulatory barriers to homebuilding. As ...

4. Ontario takes important step towards rental affordability

   The Ford government today tabled its first fiscal update, giving Ontarians a glimpse of its direction in major areas of public policy. Of interest to Ontarians struggling to afford and/or attain rental housing, the update eliminated rent ...

5. Rent control in B.C.—bad policy then, bad policy now

   There are very few points upon which nearly all economists agree. So when more than 90 per cent of academic economists agree on something, policymakers should take note. For example, the vast majority of economists agree that rent ...

6. All three major political parties ignore real solutions to Ontario’s housing crunch

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, May 31, 2018 With the Ontario election fast approaching, voters want robust discussion on important issues facing the province. Unfortunately, on the crucial issue of housing affordability, constructive proposals and ...

7. How the Wynne government killed the economics of building new rental units

   In an attempt to promote the construction of rental properties, Ontario’s Wynne government has announced it will fund 13 Ontario municipalities to rebate local fees for rental housing builders. Queen’s Park hopes that, by giving $125 ...

8. Local and provincial policies across Canada may negate latest federal rental housing plan

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, March 12, 2018 The Trudeau government’s recently-released 2018 budget includes a $1.25 billion increase for a Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC) program that provides low-cost loans to builders of rental housing, ...

9. Proposed rent control rules already discouraging rental development in Ontario

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, October 4, 2017 Amidst concerns over housing affordability in the Greater Toronto Area, the Wynne government is pressing ahead with tighter rent control laws. When the government first proposed an expansion to the province’s ...

10. Ontario housing measures—too much on demand, too little on supply

    The Ontario government yesterday announced a raft of measures aimed at cooling the cost of buying or renting in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Topping the list—a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers (conveniently called “non-resident ...