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1. A lagging housing supply drives Ontario’s affordability woes

   The Wynne government almost exclusively targeted housing demand—not supply. ...

2. 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 ...

3. City hall holds the key to solving housing crisis in Canadian cities

   Appeared in the Financial Post, May 31, 2018 Mayors, councillors and city staff from Canada’s largest cities will be among the thousands of delegates in Halifax for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) annual conference (May 31 to June 3). This ...

4. 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 ...

5. B.C. government wants more rental units—but will municipalities follow through?

   Appeared in the Vancouver Sun, May 2, 2018 The British Columbia government recently introduced legislation aimed at housing affordability, which—among other things—would grant municipalities the power to zone for rental-only housing, ostensibly to ...

6. Housing affordability—a welcome addition to Ontario’s election issue agenda

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, May 2, 2018 The Ontario Liberals recently caused a stir by releasing video of Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford (pictured above) pledging to “open a big chunk” of Ontario’s Greenbelt to homebuilding if elected premier, in an effort ...

7. More power for Ontario municipalities means more responsibility to build housing

   The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) is no more. The Ontario government recently announced that the OMB—the tribunal charged with adjudicating land-use planning disputes between local governments, citizens and property developers—will be ...

8. In Florida, they’re snowbirds—in B.C., they’re ‘speculators’

   Heavy-handed policies such as B.C.’s “speculation” tax target symptoms rather than causes. ...

9. If the B.C. government wants to help renters, it should care about homebuilding

   British Columbia Premier John Horgan recently appointed a Rental Housing Task Force to advise the government on how to “improve security and fairness for renters and landlords throughout the province.” It’s encouraging that the ...

10. 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, ...