Our CEO was in the news again last week responding to the Government of Canada’s 2023 Fall Economic Statement. In this ‘mini-budget,’ Ottawa pledged $1 billion for non-profit, co-op, and public housing providers to build more than 7,000 new homes by 2028.
In a CBC News story by Jon Hernandez, Thom Armstrong, the CEO of CHF BC called the measures “well-intended,” but he raised alarm over the lack of a timeline, with dollars only starting to roll out in 2025.
“I’m pretty disappointed in the overall strategy. The problem really is with the scale and the timing of the response. We’re in a housing crisis. I’m baffled as to why an economic recovery would have to wait until 2025-2026 to address what’s a burning crisis right now.”
Thom Armstrong
Armstrong says over the last census period, Canada lost 378,000 homes with rents under 1,000 per month — 100,000 of which were in B.C. — while rents have climbed 30 per cent over the same time period.
You can read the full story here, which also includes comments from by CHF Canada’s associate director of public affairs, Courtney Lockhart.