GTA mayors demand housing funds from federal government before Poilievre stop it

Several GTA mayors say they support a new request from Mississauga for the federal government to provide all funds in a major housing program now, as the Liberals ring the alarm over Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s plan to scrap the initiative to help pay for his proposed tax cut to boost home construction.

 

But federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser’s office was quick to cast doubt on the idea, telling the Star that the $4.4-billion Housing Accelerator Fund is meant to roll out in tranches until 2028 to make sure cities spend the money on ways to speed up homebuilding.

 

“If we disbursed all of the cash at once, we would have no way to ensure that communities are on track to meet the ambitious goals outlined in their agreements,” said a statement sent by Fraser’s spokesperson, Matthew Dillon-Leitch.

 

It’s the latest development in the political battle over housing policy at the federal level, as the opposition parties rail against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, with the Conservatives blaming it for the surge in housing costs in recent years.

In October, Poilievre promised his party would eliminate the federal sales tax on new-built homes that sell for less than $1 million. The Conservative leader said this would cost roughly $4 billion per year and boost annual home construction by 30,000 units.

 

To cover the cost, the Conservatives said they would save billions of dollars by cutting the Housing Accelerator Fund and another $6-billion program to fund construction of water and sewer systems for housing developments. Outside of Quebec, both programs involve municipalities applying directly to Ottawa for funding, rather than having the money flow through provincial governments.

 

In an interview with the Star, Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish said she believes cities are being used as “battering rams” as the major federal parties gear up for the next election campaign. After Poilievre’s pledge to cut the programs, Fraser penned more than 141 letters to municipal leaders, warning them that millions of dollars in promised funding for housing was at risk under Poilievre’s plan. His office has also tried to expose Conservative MPs who have expressed a desire for cities in their ridings to get money from the program their party promises to cut.

 

In her response to Fraser, Parrish said the Liberal government should provide all of the Housing Accelerator Fund money up front, instead of giving it out in chunks, so that the program is saved from the Conservative chopping block. Mississauga is supposed to receive $113 million under the program; like other cities, it has been given 25 per cent up front, with the rest slated to come if the city hits agreed-upon milestones in the coming years.

 

According to Fraser’s office, $1.2 billion of the program’s $4.4-billion funding has been distributed so far, while the housing infrastructure fund started taking municipal applications this week.

 

“Send us the other three quarters, just in case the worst happens,” Parrish said.

 

“If you’re very worried and you don’t have the confidence you’re going to win the next election, you should pay the rest of it out now.”

 

The Star spoke with four other GTA mayors, all of whom expressed concerns about the program getting cut and agreed with Mississauga’s call for all of the money to be provided sooner. They said the program is helping their municipalities streamline approval processed for construction permits, and is paying for initiatives to build more affordable housing.

 

The Conservatives, meanwhile, have argued the housing accelerator is a failure that provides nothing more than “photo ops,” pointing to statistics that show new housing starts are lower in some cities than they were last year. The Liberal government says the program is estimated to help create 750,000 new homes over the next decade, in part by helping cities speed up permitting of new construction.

 

Shaun Collier, the mayor of Ajax, Ont., said slashing the program would have “significant effects” and could force his town to hike property taxes if the cuts come partway through construction that the money is earmarked to pay for, including a new community centre. Collier said he expects Ontario’s 29 “big city” mayors to discuss the situation at their next meeting on Dec. 6.

 

“As you know, municipalities are not able to run a deficit. We’re not about to abandon a project. We would have to go back to the taxpayers, potentially in the form of a tax increase,” he said.

 

Whitby Mayor Elizabeth Roy said her town wouldn’t be able to afford initiatives like fast-tracking adoption of electric permits and donating municipal land for social housing construction without the almost $25 million it is slated to get through the accelerator fund. Roy said she agrees “100 per cent” with Mississauga’s request to get all the money up front.

In Richmond Hill, Mayor David West said his community has already spent more than a year working on a plan, soon to be released, that will include how it intends to use the $31-million it is supposed to get through the Housing Accelerator Fund. Cutting the program would not only prevent the city from implementing initiatives like streamlined construction permits, but would also mean wasted resources on planning, he said.

 

While West added that he appreciates the “checks and balances” built into how the program doles out money based on performance milestones, he said he would have to support getting the money up front if it is truly threatened by the Conservatives’ promised cuts.

 

“That would be the best alternative if the worst thing happened,” he said.

 

To Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, the situation shows the need for better housing programs to support cities that aren’t set up for cities to apply for funding and hope that it comes.

 

“You can’t plan long-term infrastructure that way. You can’t plan cities that way. The government should be direct-delivering dollars to municipalities under a new funding deal,” Meed Ward said.

 

“Don’t just show us the money, give us the money.”

 

 

 

 

This article was first reported by The Star