FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT BLOAT COSTING TAXPAYERS AT LEAST $10 BILLION ANNUALLY
Buried among the many tables in Statistics Canada’s June employment report are data on public sector employment: federal, provincial and local employees hired by departments, agencies, hospitals and schools, including universities and colleges. As of June, 4.412 million workers were public employees, representing 21.5 per cent of Canada’s workforce. That is an astonishing 972,000 more (28.3 per cent) than in 2014, when 3.439 million Canadians were working for governments. And the numbers don’t...
read moreWEEK OF JULY 15 2024 NEWSREEL WITH VANESSA TOPPLE
This week – looking back on her first year in office, it’s fair to say that Toronto mayor Olivia Chow has some successes and some failures but one thing is certain, she loves the attention....
read moreSTRAIT-AREA BUILDER AIMING FOR LOW RENT ON 2 NEW HOUSING PROJECTS
The developer of two new housing projects in the Strait of Canso area says he’s seeking every avenue to ease the financial burden on new renters. Brela Construction purchased a vacant school building in Evanston, N.S., from the Municipality of Richmond County in May to convert to affordable seniors’ housing. A month later, the Arichat company signed a development deal with the Town of Port Hawkesbury to set up housing units within walking distance of the Nova Scotia Community...
read moreAVISON YOUNG SELLS MONTREAL OFFICE BUILDING FOR RESIDENTIAL CONVERSION
Avison Young announced the sale of a Montreal office building that will be converted into residential housing, and said it sees other opportunities for conversions in the city. In a press release Thursday, Avison Young announced the sale of 1434 Sainte-Catherine St. West to 5AM Capital, saying the office building will be used for student housing due to its proximity to Concordia and McGill universities. “Repurposing this property into a home for students will give it a new life and contribute...
read moreWEST VANCOUVER APPROVES NEW DEMOVICTION PROTECTIONS FOR RENTERS
West Vancouver renters can rest a little easier knowing that developers will have to make significant accommodations for them should their existing homes be demolished and redeveloped. At a meeting Monday evening, council unanimously approved a newly created rental replacement and tenant assistance policy. The final version of the policy includes a more tailored approach to tenant relocation plans than previous iterations, considering factors such as the size of renters’ units, their length of...
read morePROPOSAL FOR RENTAL PROPERTY BYLAW TO UNDERGO PUBLIC CONSULTATION
North Battleford’s rental property situation is about to get a closer look following Monday night’s council meeting. “Under the mandate of council’s strategic plan, subsequent discussions related to community safety, community standards and housing challenges and as a result from complaints from the public and general community regarding substandard rental properties, the administration was directed to develop an approach to develop inventory for residential rental properties in the city,”...
read moreWEEK OF JULY 8 2024 NEWSREEL WITH VANESSA TOPPLE
This week, three different reports with the conclusion that the housing industry is precarious, both now and in the future. We discuss reports from RBC on new construction, an Angus Reid poll on immigration and third, from StatsCan on population....
read moreTORONTO COUNCIL SUPPORTS ACCELERATION OF RENTAL HOUSING PROJECTS
Toronto City Council has approved recommendations in staff reports that will allocate $351 million in capital funding to 18 affordable rental housing projects, enabling construction to start in 2024 and 2025. The funding will help almost 6,000 new rental homes including 2,600 affordable rental and 3,380 rent-controlled homes currently delayed in pre-development phases move forward towards construction, stated a release. The city’s new Rental Housing Supply Program proposes a framework to...
read moreB.C. GOVERNMENT TO LAUNCH WEBSITE TO COMBAT ‘BAD FAITH’ EVICTIONS
The B.C. government says a new online portal launching this month will combat bad-faith evictions made by landlords who falsely claim to be putting a property to “personal use,” only to increase rent on the unit. The Ministry of Housing says the Landlord Use Web Portal will go live on July 18 and will require landlords to generate eviction notices under the Residential Tenancy Act’s provision allowing tenants to be evicted from a unit if a family member or caretaker intends...
read moreCANADIAN RENTAL HOUSING CRISIS: A CALL FOR LOW-INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT
Canada faces a significant challenge in its rental housing crisis due to a lack of new affordable units being built. Despite efforts through the National Housing Strategy’s five programs, only 17,000 units were delivered over four years, barely improving Ottawa’s track record from the past 30 years. For instance, between 1996 and 2013, provincial and federal governments provided less than 7,000 new units. On the other hand, between 1987 and 2021, the United States constructed 3.5 million...
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