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RESCON ‘eager’ to see re-elected government act on housing promises

The Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) has issued a statement commenting on the results of Canada’s Sept. 20 federal election:

“RESCON congratulates Justin Trudeau for winning a third term in government. Now the hard work must begin on pledges that were made to boost the supply of housing and streamline and digitize the planning and development approvals process.

‘We are very much dependent on housing to support our economic recovery,’ says RESCON president Richard Lyall. ‘We must find ways to significantly increase the number of new homes being built across the country. The leaders of all three major parties recognized this as a key issue on the campaign trail.

‘The dire lack of housing is a critical issue that must be addressed, or our recovery will stall. Red tape is presently delaying construction of much-needed new housing developments and we are pleased that the Liberal housing plan includes a pledge to remove some of this unnecessary paperwork by providing tools to streamline the application and construction process as well as tackle NIMBYism.’

RESCON has long advocated for the streamlining and digitization of the planning and development approvals process to deliver essential housing faster through the One Ontario initiative and the Concept 2 Keys (C2K) project out of the City of Toronto.

RESCON is also eager to hear more about plans to recruit and retain the next generation of construction workers and learn about the proposals to ensure labour market needs dictate immigration policies. Recent reports suggest there is a skilled trades crunch looming in Canada.

The workforce will see a 10,000-worker deficit in 56 nationally recognized Red Seal trades over the next five years, a scarcity that could be widened tenfold when 250 provincially regulated trades are added into the mix. We are looking forward to how pledged labour and immigration policies such as the establishment of a Trusted Employer System and the Labour Mobility Tax Credit are implemented.

‘During the election campaign, all three major political parties recognized the severity of the housing supply problem and pledged to tackle the issue,’ adds Lyall. ‘It was also acknowledged that the federal government can’t fix the situation on its own. We need a housing summit to bring other levels of government to the table with industry leaders to solve the growing housing problem.'”