‘AMBITION… NOT MORE RED TAPE’: OTTAWA’S ASSESSING IMPACT OF ALBERTA’S BILL 18 ON HOUSING

Last week, Premier Danielle Smith introduced her government’s Bill 18 — the Provincial Priorities Act, 2024 — in the legislature.

Smith characterized the bill as “taking back control” of agreements, and ensuring federal funding aligns with Alberta’s priorities, listing net zero housing, electricity and safe supply of drugs as examples.

On Monday, Micaal Ahmed, a spokesperson for Fraser’s office, said in a statement the bill remains under examination.

“Ambition is what is needed to solve this housing crisis, not more red tape. In the middle of a housing crisis, we cannot afford to make it harder to build homes in this country,” it states.

“We all need to be pulling in the same direction when it comes to housing, and putting up new roadblocks to delivering funding to get more homes built will not help us solve the housing crisis Albertans are facing.”

“It’s time to build,” Fraser said earlier in the day while speaking at a government news conference alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Vaughan, Ont.

“We have a choice to make, not just as a federal government, but as a country. Do we want to talk about the housing crisis or do we want to solve it?”

“At a time in which construction of homes and purpose-built rentals is at an all-time high, imposing roadblocks on building will shut people out of the rental and housing market and discourage new construction, making the problem worse,” Nixon stated earlier this month in a release.

The latest housing numbers from the provincial dashboard show the number of housing starts in February, the most recent month available, increased by 66 per cent over a year earlier with more than half of those builds being apartment or other unit types.

Opposition housing critic Janis Irwin said Monday that the housing issue is of increasing urgency to Albertans, who she said are dealing with the fastest growing rents in the country.

“They really don’t care which politician or which order of government is cutting the cheque. They have an urgent need for cash to build affordable homes right now.”

Smith has said her government will consult with stakeholders over the summer before the bill is expected to come into effect early next year.