Canada's premiers united in their criticism of federal housing policy, carbon tax changes
CBC
Canada's premiers lashed out at the federal government Monday, saying Ottawa is treading on thin ice by signing bilateral housing deals directly with municipalities while leaving provinces out of the mix.
The premiers also faulted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for not having convened an in-person first ministers' meeting in five years.
At a time when the country is facing a series of crises — a housing crunch, a stressed health-care system and big changes in climate policy — the country's premiers need face-time with Trudeau, they said.
In the 2015 federal election, Trudeau campaigned on restoring "collaborative federal leadership," something he said was missing during former prime minister Stephen Harper's time in office.
Some premiers said today he hasn't lived up to that promise.
Under intense political pressure to get more homes built to ease an acute shortage, Housing Minister Sean Fraser has been signing deals with cities like Calgary, Hamilton, Halifax and London and Vaughan, Ont. under the Housing Accelerator Fund, which gives money to municipalities that commit to reducing red tape.
In exchange for commitments to increase housing density, Fraser has agreed to cut cheques for municipalities. The issue for the premiers is these deals have been made without provincial involvement — except in Quebec, where the province brokered a $900-million deal with Ottawa on behalf of all its cities and towns.
Every Quebec municipality will have access to funds, while others across the country will have to meet Ottawa's terms to get money through a bilateral deal, said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
The other premiers are now intent on getting what Quebec got — and they are threatening to enact legislation to stop Ottawa from going around provincial leaders when brokering such funding arrangements.
"We need fairness, we need equity and we're not seeing that with the current model," Smith said. "If defending our jurisdiction by passing legislation similar to Quebec assists us in getting fair treatment, then that's what we're going to do."
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said the "lack of collaboration" on housing has "created duplicate processes" and it "risks pitting provinces and territories against each other."
"If people continue to be excluded, it's really hard to talk about unity," added P.E.I. Premier Dennis King. "We're working at breakneck speed and we need to all be pulling at the same end of the rope here."
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) estimates the country needs to build 3.5 million more housing units by 2030 to meet explosive demand as the country's population expands, thanks in part to record immigration.
To solve this problem, the federal government needs to work hand-in-hand with the provinces, Houston and King said.
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