ONTARIO’S ECONOMY TO SEE WORST NON-RECESSION GROWTH SINCE EARLY 80S: FAO
Canada’s largest provincial economy is unlikely to be the driver of an economic boom any time soon. The Financial Accountability Office (FAO) of Ontario released its economic and budget outlook for 2024, and it was not very rosy. The non-partisan government agency, tasked with providing the public with independent analysis and forecasts of the economy, says the province has been significantly underperforming global growth. Ontario’s economy is forecast to expand at one of the slowest rates in...
read moreIMMIGRATION-FUELLED GROWTH HITS THE HOUSING CRISIS WALL IN CANADA, AROUND THE WORLD
Across much of the developed world, one of the most dependable drivers of economic growth is faltering. For decades, the rapid inflow of migrants helped countries including Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom stave off the demographic drag from aging populations and falling birth rates. That’s now breaking down as a surge of arrivals since borders reopened after the pandemic runs headlong into a chronic shortage of homes to accommodate them. Canada and Australia have escaped recession...
read moreCANADIAN RENTERS NOT CONFIDENT TRUDEAU’S POLICY WILL EASE HOUSING CRISIS: POLL
Canadian renters are not confident in Trudeau’s housing policy outlined in the latest federal budget, a new poll says. A majority of respondents are aware of the Liberal government’s housing measures but most were either not confident in or unsure about its ability to ease housing woes, according to the survey, carried out by rentals.ca. “While there is a clear recognition of the government’s efforts, the prevailing skepticism and concern among renters highlight the challenges ahead,” the...
read moreCITY TARGETS TORONTO’S ‘BAD FAITH’ LANDLORDS WITH MORE INSPECTIONS
Toronto city council has approved a beefed up apartment inspection and enforcement program designed to improve safety and provide readily accessible online updates on building conditions across the city. Councillors approved the new standards for RentSafeTO at a meeting late last week. The program, which began in 2017, is a bylaw enforcement system designed to ensure owners and operators of over 3,600 apartment buildings are meeting maintenance standards. The new rules include targeted...
read moreJUST A FEW BIG LANDLORDS COME UP, AGAIN AND AGAIN, IN ANALYSIS OF ONTARIO’S RENT HIKES
Newly released data from Ontario’s rental housing tribunal analyzed by CBC News shows that fewer than two dozen corporate landlords filed most of the applications to raise rents above provincial guidelines for most of 2022 — which one Toronto housing lawyer says is a sign of the increasing concentration in the province’s rental market. CBC News found that 20 landlords filed over half of the 470 applications in the first eight months of 2022, with the top five filing over a quarter....
read moreLANDLORDS REMOVING UNITS FROM RENT SUBSIDY PROGRAM, CITING INCREASED OPERATING COSTS
A senior civil servant in the New Brunswick Housing Corporation says his office is looking into an increased trend in landlords taking units off the corporation’s rent subsidy program. Gregory Forestell, the corporation’s vice-president of housing programs, says landlords are opting out of the rent subsidy program as early as five years after entering into agreements with the provincial body. “They’re seeing the opportunity to see a better return on their...
read moreALBERTA GOVERNMENT HAS ‘DEEP CONCERNS’ ABOUT FEDERAL HOUSING ANNOUNCEMENT
The Alberta government says it has “deep concerns” and not enough information about a $6-billion federal housing announcement made Tuesday morning. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement while he was in Dartmouth, N.S., as part of the government’s pre-budget tour. Trudeau says while the fund will help address the housing shortage plaguing Canadians, provinces and territories have to adopt certain housing policies in order to access it. The offices of Jason Nixon, Minister of...
read moreTRUDEAU ISN’T INTERESTED IN BEING THE PM, HE WANTS TO BE PREMIER
I really don’t know why Justin Trudeau doesn’t step down as prime minister of Canada and run to be premier of Quebec. Based on his policy priorities, this is clearly the level of government that he should be in. Over the past several years, Trudeau has introduced childcare programs, pharmacare, dental care, and now he’s talking about a renter’s bill of rights.To accomplish this goal, like all the other programs, Trudeau will need to negotiate with the provinces and territories. Anything to do...
read moreN.S. GOVERNMENT EXTENDS REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR SHORT-TERM RENTALS
Airbnb operators and other short-term rentals in Nova Scotia are being handed a break by the Houston government. The Tourist Accommodations Registration Act came into effect in April 2020 requiring accommodations with 28 days or less rent to register each year. Starting last April, short-term accommodations within a host’s primary residence like Airbnb were added to the act. According to a release, the province extended registration today until September to allow “visitors and hosts more time...
read moreMONTREAL REVAMPS SOCIAL HOUSING BYLAW, AIMS TO GET MORE DEVELOPERS ON BOARD
In 2021, a bylaw took effect with the goal of forcing Montreal developers to include social, family and affordable housing in their projects. Nearly three years later, and with many questions swirling about the effectiveness of that bylaw, the city is revamping its rules and being more lenient with developers. Benoit Dorais, the vice-president of Montreal’s executive committee who is in charge of the housing file, said the bylaw, which is called the Règlement pour une métropole...
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