Achi news desk-
Many of Canada’s provincial governments say they are unwilling to agree to conditions for access to a proposed $6 billion infrastructure fund, which ties eligibility for federal cash to facilitate construction of the four.
Meanwhile, Housing Minister Sean Fraser said the plans would go ahead whether the counties got on board or not.
“I don’t believe in forcing municipalities, I believe in working with municipalities. I’ve walked a mile in their shoes,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said at a news conference in Vaughan, Ont., on Wednesday.
“I’m going to leave it up to each municipality to decide, because they know more than the county and the federal government.”
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Fraser said regional planning for four levels is among the criteria in Housing Accelerator Fund deals with municipalities, so counties shouldn’t be surprised it’s the federal priority.
“If the counties don’t want to make some of the changes, they shouldn’t get the funding we’re putting on the table. But this is funding of billions of dollars to build infrastructure that my county colleagues told me is essential, and if they don’t want to deal with me directly, we have a direct delivery stream that will allow the municipalities take advantage of these funds,” Fraser said.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Fraser announced a federal budget plan to create a $6 billion urban infrastructure fund to accelerate the development of key pieces of housing infrastructure such as water and sewer connections.
Most of the money is slated to go to the provinces — but to access it, the provinces must reach agreements with Ottawa for municipalities to pre-approve the zoning of the Quad and other small multi-apartment housing options.
Ford has previously said he supports converting a single-family home to four stories, but opposes pre-approval of “four-story towers” in residential neighborhoods.
Read more about what it is and isn’t Fourplex in this global news story.
In Quebec, Canadian Relations Minister Jean-Francois Roberge and French Housing Minister Alain Durance issued a joint statement saying the federal government is interfering in their jurisdiction by trying to tie funding to regional reforms, while not addressing issues like asylum seekers.
“If the federal government wants to help solve the housing problem, it must immediately correct the disproportionate proportion of asylum seekers being sent to Quebec; a situation with tangible implications for our public services,” they said.
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“There is no question that Quebec will meet some conditions to simply get its fair share of this envelope. Quebec must be able to exercise its right of withdrawal with full compensation and without any conditions.”
Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Rick McIver and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon also released a joint statement, saying they had “deep concerns” about Ottawa encroaching on provincial jurisdiction.
“The federal government has not been clear on how they plan to distribute this funding. No information has been provided as to whether per capita funding will be provided to ensure it is not used for political gain,” they wrote.
In neighboring Saskatchewan, government spokesman Matthew Glover says they share concerns about the federal government wading into provincial jurisdiction.
“While multi-family housing may be a high priority in major urban centers like Toronto and Vancouver, it is not a high priority in most Saskatchewan communities, so we do not want to see this new fund come at the expense of infrastructure priorities in Saskatchewan. Due to the needs our unique ones,” he wrote in an emailed statement.
Regarding the jurisdictional argument, Fraser said Ottawa often places funding and policy in the provincial jurisdiction, points to health care transfers, and has entered the municipal realm through the Housing Acceleration Fund.
However, there is some support for the policy proposal.
In British Columbia, the NDP government passed legislation requiring municipalities of more than 5,000 people to amend their bylaws to allow such construction by June 30.
Prime Minister David Ivey said Tuesday he saw the broad gist of the federal proposal and said there were sections he found “very helpful.”
“The plan seems to support British Columbia’s approach to building housing. We think it is very important to tie infrastructure funding to a clear commitment to building housing,” Ivey said.
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs said Tuesday that everyone shares the same goal of trying to build more homes, but balks at deals with such conditions.
“It’s a bit unfortunate that it’s a bit take-it-or-leave-it, where it’s, ‘Here’s our option and if you don’t agree, too bad.’ I think any relationship we have should be built on a rational discussion of what our program needs, not what the terms are Higgs told reporters at the New Brunswick legislature.
Speaking on background, a representative from the Nova Scotia government says at first glance they are happy to see their call for additional housing funding answered, but need to further review the details of the proposed funding agreement.
The Liberals’ stated focus is to try and make the housing market fairer for millennials and Gen Z.
It follows a report from RBC which showed that interest rates have pushed home ownership to its most unaffordable levels ever. According to the report, a household with an average income needs to spend 63.5% of its income to cover the cost of owning an average home.
Global News has reached out to the other prime ministers for comment.
The provinces have until January 1, 2025 to reach an agreement with Ottawa to access this infrastructure funding, and the deadline for the territories is April 1, 2025.
If deals don’t happen, Ottawa plans to divert the provincial funding into the municipal funding stream.
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