Today I am announcing a further ambitious step in our government’s plan to make housing more affordable for Canadians today’s changes to the Canada mortgage Bond program are going to make it more appealing for Builders who have projects that are marginal that have been yellow lighted uh that now can be
Greenlet that now can go ahead the federal government is unlocking another $20 billion in lowcost financing for the construction of rental housing this is a change from the previous annual limit of 40 billion to 60 billion on its Canada mortgage bonds program it’s a change the federal government says will increase
Rental construction by 30,000 units per year now this announcement comes coincidentally as BC Premier David eie visits ottaa to talk about housing and Premier eie joins me in the studio Premier nice to have you here nice to having me I don’t know if you can take credit for that announcement your
Presence but you know this they say this will unlock a bunch of rental construction it comes on housing accelerator announcements for Siri and bernabe that we’ve we’ve seen are going to go ahead how helpful will these Federal policies be for the housing crunch that your province is facing well
The uh the GST announcement was really good news for British Columbia we had a bunch of Market uh rental projects that were on hold and it helps uh get them moving uh the key for us is going to be making sure that this Federal announcement that other Federal
Announcements map up with what we’re doing provincially uh this lowcost borrowing uh can couple up with our low cost borrowing for construction and we can have a huge impact if we work together a bit of our frustration uh with the Federal has been that our programs aren’t talking to each other
They have this Municipal accelerator fund to support municipalities we have housing targets for municipalities they’re different cities and so if we can get them on the same page we’ll be much more effective and that was part of the pitch to the federal government as let’s get working together so how do you
Do that I I mean we we’ve seen it was shared on social media letters from Minister Fraser to bernabe and to Siri saying hey congratulations you’re going to be approved for this if you go ahead with what you’re promising is that helpful for a provincial government
Trying to coordinate all of this or is this you’re playing some bum cars here well British Colombians have a basic expectation they are facing when they look for a place to rent when they look for a place to buy they can’t find a place to live even if they earn a decent
Income and they’re incredibly frustrated their expectation is local governments Provincial Government Federal Government work together solve this problem and uh and that’s where our big opportunity lies so uh today we announced housing targets for municipalities that we developed cooperatively with cities uh the federal government has that accelerator funding where they can come
In uh and then you have local provincial and Federal working together it can deepen affordability we can move a lot faster and we have to we added 250,000 people to our province in the last couple of years that’s massive pressure on housing and so we have to move faster
And the uh the opportunity is there uh the discussion and some of the resolution uh I hope we came to was uh was um dedicating staff uh to really get our programs in line because uh because people need fast action on housing do you think that message was heard do you
Think the federal government’s willing to do that because there’s suddenly a new urgency in the city you of notice on how to deal with housing and affordability was your was your input well received yeah I think uh the the piece about working together on existing programs absolutely was the part um
Where I think we have more work to do and where I’m looking at the federal government on additional announcements is we have a lot of really cool projects happening in British Columbia New models around using public land to build more affordable housing healthc care land for healthcare workers uh Schoolboard land
For uh teachers and people who work at schools uh using uh provincially owned land for attainable middle- inome housing for purchase and for rent uh partnering with indigenous Nations around building that middle- inome housing really exciting announcements uh where we’ll be able to deepen affordability and move faster if we have
A strong Federal partner that’s the piece where I think they’re still uh doing reviews about how they can expand what they’re doing and I hope we’ll be able to partner on those specific projects right because those wouldn’t fit into say the housing accelerator box
So to speak you need to find a way to do that right yeah exactly they do these big National programs that are I mean Pei is very different from British the challenges and opportunities and we’re having to identify specific Parcels specific Partners big projects tens of thousands of units of housing which is
All very exciting but uh it doesn’t quite fit into those uh those big National programs we need specific targeted attention uh to get them across the line and and I think the federal government can do it and I think there’s some interest in getting okay yeah it doesn’t sound like an unsolvable problem
Because the idea of letting health workers live close to the hospital teachers live close to the school in a way that’s affordable for them is critical really to building communities absolutely and and we’ve talked about there’s a military base in esalt British Columbia here’s an opportunity for the
Federal government to have there’s lots of land to have housing for people who work on the base in that Community take pressure off the port and Prince rert could be involved in housing there’s lots of opportunities for us to do more of this okay I I want to switch topics
If I can to to to the Canada Pension Plan and you’ve seen your next door neighbor Premier Daniel Smith has announced that she would like to proceed with an Alberta pension plan and she believes that she is is entitled or Alberta is entitled to more than half of
The Assets in the Canada Pension Plan investment fund what’s British Columbia’s position on that assessment well you know I I saw that and I I have to say in terms of what’s on the minds of British Colombians right now it’s uh cost of living housing Health Care uh
Public safety issues that’s the focus of our government Alberta has other things that they’re working on uh if they’re serious about moving in that direction we’re obviously going to have to be involved in that conversation the CPP works well for British Columbia it’s provided good returns it uh uh supports
Them in retirement it has good support in our Province and it’s not a direction that we’re headed right but but if they were to proceed and if as Alberta seems to think they’re entitled to those assets it would affect the cost of living for British Colombians because
Premiums will go up for individuals and for companies and and retirement security is a core part of affordability I I mean do you think this would be a good plan for the rest of the country we’ve seen some Premier such as Andrew Fury and new fan Labrador come out
Against it where are you on it well I think you know as PR leaders we need to stand up for the people in our Province on the priorities that they have and I guess that’s what Danielle Smith is doing if she presses on in this direction BC will absolutely be at the
Table to make sure that uh that it doesn’t come at the expense of British Colombians um I think that uh that where the opportunities are for us frankly as provincial leaders right now around the issue of healthcare we’re all meeting in Nova Scotia about best practices on that
On the issue of housing we’re all seeing issues in our provinces on the issue of Public Safety the bail reform bills in front of the Senate right now at the Federal level to make a difference for Public Safety in our communities uh I think focusing on those shared areas of
Interest rather than where we may disagree uh is is going to be helpful and uh and ultimately if she continues to push the pension issue because she thinks that’s what albertans need uh then British Columbia is going to be there to make sure that we’re looked
After do you think it’s good for Canada to be having this conversation to be having this potential Showdown with Alberta if she proceeds yeah I think what’s good for Canada is to find the areas where we have common interests and work on those things together and uh and
There’s always a push to find the things that we disagree on and and and frankly it’s a time where we need real Unity across the country uh it’s a time of global uncertainty Global inflation huge pressure on Canadians around affordability and housing and I I think
The more we focus on those issues the more we’ll be able to deliver for our our communities on what they actually and the people in our provinces about what they actually care about I I want to switch to one more topic if I can and it’s the issue of Canada India relations
Right now I mean the the murder of herik sing ner in in your Province and the ongoing police investigation here you have been briefed by CIS what is your assessment of the position the government of Canada has taken the allegation that India was involved potentially after seeing what you saw
From cus uh well unfortunately um The Briefing I received from cus is something called an open source briefing which or uh uh which which basically means anything that’s in the newspaper uh it’s it’s a publicly available information uh and so I have no great uh
In insid or Insight this is one of my frustrations frankly uh and I’ve expressed to the public safety Minister and the Prime Minister during my meetings here is the need for the federal government to find ways to share more information uh they advise that the cus act prevents cus from sharing that
Kind of information with provinces if we’re going to make sure that people are safe in our Province if we’re going to make sure our elections are free from interference if we’re going to address transnational crime we do need cus to be able to share that information with us
And both made the commitment that they are looking at the cus act to make those reforms so that information can be shared this is something uh we’ve been pushing them on for for a number of years have you had any ation with the Prime Minister his office got any
Clarification for them about the the strength of the evidence and the intelligence that they’re basing this on I mean do you have doubts in what the government has done here well you know I know for myself as leader of a province uh that uh in order to make stand up and
Make an announcement like that that has such a profound effect on people like this is wedding season uh for uh for people uh in uh many people in South Asian communities right now thinking about going back to India needing visas uh to go and visit friends and family uh
We have so many trade uh and economic relationships with India I sure the Prime Minister had uh very good information uh for me uh I want as much information as our Province can get in order to respond to threats that uh are faced not just by uh expats from India
But people who have roots in uh Iran uh people who have roots in Russia or Ukraine uh people have roots in China who are speaking out on issues in their home communities and are now worried maybe it’s not safe to do that in British Columbia anymore maybe it’s not
Safe to do that in Canada uh so we to stand up for those folks I need that information but I don’t want any information that’ll compromise the criminal investigation ultimately on this issue we want the RCMP to do the investigation and bring those uh responsible uh to accountability in the
Criminal court the the population makeup of the lower mainland of British Columbia in particular I I mean you have communities there that could very well be targeted by some of these foreign States I mean there have been calls for protections for sick Canadians in particular in the wake of all of this do
You think the security situation for that m MERS of certain diaspora communities is is good enough at this point in time well there’s certainly deep unease uh in these communities the you know so many people who who thought you know here’s a safe space for me in
Canada to speak out on these issues where at home I can’t speak out about them uh all of a sudden it feels like uh maybe that’s not a safe thing to do anymore and we need to restore that in order to have a democracy in order to
Have free speech and for Canada to be a safe harbor we need to provide that um I can say that I don’t have the information that I need as Premier to ensure uh that we’re providing that protection uh My Hope and expectation is that law enforcement does but when we
Work with our chief electoral officer for example on making sure that our elections are free from foreign interference uh we have limited access to information and so uh it would be really helpful for the federal government to provide that Amendment to the cus act to provide that information
To us we have those commitments from the federal government and we’ll be looking for that uh because I think we all have the same goal of ensuring that Canada is a free and open democracy where people are not interfered with by agents of foreign governments British Columbia
Premier d it’s nice to meet you thanks for coming into the studio thanks having me David thank you
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Tuesday that Ottawa will raise the annual cap on the Canada Mortgage Bond program from $40 billion to $60 billion, making an additional $20 billion in financing available for developers looking to build rental units. B.C. Premier David Eby said the key concern for his government is ensuring that the federal programs sync up with provincial efforts to address housing affordability.
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How much did Ukarine receive this month? Gfy's
PP gonna whine
Rentals. Rental. Rentals. I want to own a house not rent an apartment!
20 billion for rental development will get the rentals built, but the cost of building, inflation and a stagnant economy will always be the crux to Canadian taxpayers …..this will do no benefit because the cost to live in Canada is exorbitant caused by JUSTINFLATION.
650 billion in aid for Ukraine but peanuts for your own people, this government is not serious
"Unlocks" … is there no end to money printing?
More corporate welfare,just what the corporations need, more of our tax dollars.
Housing prices and rents cannot come down without a surplus. Tens of thousands of units are constructed each year. More than a million are required. A variety of spurious pretexts are employed in order to deceptively justify placing a halt on the further use of land, deliberately keeping housing in short supply.
Those that come out in protest are the unwitting victims of a con job that falsely believing will secure their future ensures their demise. Canada has 895,000,000 acres of forest that is a fraction of its total territory. None may be spared for housing.
Halting outward expansion does not save farmland, as it escalates in price to the million dollar per acre level, is unfeasible for growing crops, farm houses are replaced with mansions, the land becomes fallow and returns to nature.
Fifteen square miles allocated to housing that in a relative sense is the equivalent of a molecule in a football field would eliminate the shortfall and bring housing prices back to a normal level. Citizens of a democracy will not allow that to happen.
A home used to be a place to live in and traded in a free market like that for cars (until it was turned into a financial instrument in a monopoly) and persons at each income level could afford to buy one as homeowners whose income increased moved upwards to more expensive homes leaving their old homes to be acquired by new entrants. (You can purchase a three-bedroom home in Detroit for $15,000).
Before persons are admitted to public office, whether elected or employed at any level, they should be placed under oath and required to swear to the truth of their response to these questions: Is your ulterior motive in becoming a public servant to place a halt on the use of the land resource? That was not promised to Canadians? That will cause home prices to skyrocket and shunt the lifetime earnings of citizens exacted through rent directly into the pockets of the chosen few? Unjustly enriching them and leaving residents impoverished and homeless?
Thank goodness we have Eby here in BC. He's one of the only sane Premiers, and understands we NEED our provincial/municipal leaders to work WITH the feds and not against them.
Did you know poverty allieviation completed in China for 50+Million. Now Modernization-BRI-BRICS which Canada is not part of why? CGTN The Point-Hub-Heat documentaries are Amazing……Reporterfy-Cyrus Janssen-The Duran
This doesmt help people who need low income housing, hell it doesnt even help homebuyers. It will make the construction giants a mint.
It will take 5 to 10 years for any material change in the market. Too little too late, these are all for putting lid on many failures including basic economics by the present administration. Construction giants is finding a mint? (this last few lines copied from an earlier comment here).
What a joke. This only benefits the Elites that build rental properties, not the renters nor private home properties. This gov policies they pass, with the supported by the NDP collation, is why the Canadian economy continues to go downhill.
This problem started with the rich. A small number of multi-millionaires own most of the properties in Canada. They want to keep prices high, and can afford to bid them out of reach of most other Canadians. They encouraged very slow construction permits, because they own the municipal politicians as well. The only solution, proven over thousands of years, is wealth redistribution. Very high taxes on the wealthy, and debt forgiveness for the poor. The alternative, for thousands of years, has been pitchforks and torches.
Happy to be a B.C. resident BC NDP has been doing a good job not amazing but fair.
As a builder good news. For most other people you are being deceived .
How are the provinces and municipalities matching the federal financial incentives? e.g. Waving builders fees, shortening timelines for permits, etc.
I like this guy. I wonder what the word is in BC.
Leave our children alone.
I think Trudo should stop pushing on oil cap alberta etc..We shouod not pay this much at pump when russia stop pumbing oil to the world market
Put wasting money to development. Taxes on 2nd or more properties. Taxes on 2nd or more (Sold Properties). Taxes on Foreign Investment 70%. Salary adjusted to 500%. Housing Correction to 500%. Without these corrections – Housing Issue will not be SOLVE. Bet $100 dollars to the Liberal Governments.
Build more public housing that prevent enclaves similar to singapore.
encourage more homeowner to build garden suite for rental income and bring down the cost of public transport through subsidies and increase rental of shops at train stations.
Really sick of living in a country that wants to murder people for not having a mortgage.
Our country tried to sell their housing business to the big banks in the mid-1990s and ruined the country doing it. Nobody in power will ever admit it. This is what happens when three banks run your government. Their profitability will come before the lives and health of the most vulnerable Canadians every time. This is mid-1990s austerity come to roost. This is why we have a bullshit HGTV culture full of homeless people everywhere now. Banks.