Affordable Housing

IN THE NEWS: Canadian Press - Housing ministers meet as MPs ready for more hearings on pace of price gains

NDP housing critic Jenny Kwan said the situation requires the federal government to move quickly to expand the stock of affordable housing, and increase atax on foreign buyers to dissuade them from snapping up investment properties.

"This crisis is only going to get worse as long as the federal government continues to allow housing to be treated like the stock market," Kwan said.

IN THE NEWS: Hill Times - ‘In a perfect storm right now’: labour supply, record immigration complicate daunting housing supply problem, say experts

NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.) , her party’s housing critic, said that in terms of immigration, “the people who may be coming, would be a range of different people.”
“Some of them are already here who are working hard already to support the Canadian economy in a variety of ways, some of them are renters, some of them are trying to get into the market, and some of them may have the capacity to own,” said Kwan.

“What we absolutely need to do is to ensure that we provide housing in the full spectrum, and if we don’t, all that is going to do is put upward pressure on the demand for affordable housing,” said the MP in an interview with The Hill Times last week.

IN THE NEWS: Hill Times - Feds seek to ‘raise profile of housing’ in cabinet as Hussen given job to tackle affordability, supply, and homelessness

NDP MP Jenny Kwan told The Hill Times in an interview last week that generally speaking, having a dedicated minister who will focus on addressing the housing needs of Canadians is a good thing because there is a “major” homelessness crisis “in pretty much every community across the country.”

“However, that being said, there’s a real question on what the government’s priorities are and how they would address the housing crisis,” said Kwan, adding that the Liberal government has been “more talk than action.”

“Keeping in mind that the reality that we’re faced with right now is that we’re losing more affordable housing units than we’re building, so that adds another level of pressure to the existing demand of the people who are already there, because there are other people who will lose that housing over time as well. So I think that’s an issue to which the Liberals have completely failed to address,” said Kwan. “Even in this mandate letter, they do not address this issue head-on.”

When it comes to the “financialization” of housing (when housing is treated as a commodity) with large investors and REITs coming in “and sweeping up acquisition of rental housing,” said Kwan, she suggested the federal government could “in fact put a moratorium for the acquisition of rental housing for REITs until we can actually address the housing crisis and get a better handle on how to manage the situation.”

“When I say putting a moratorium for acquisition of REITs is to actually hold the stock, hold the affordable housing stock by non-profits so that we can continue to keep that housing stock at an affordable rate,” said the MP.

MEDIA RELEASE - Canadian housing crisis worse than ever as Liberals sit by

“It’s no secret that buying a house has become unaffordable in this country, making it an impossible dream for so many families,” said the NDP’s Critic for Housing, Jenny Kwan. “This crisis is only going to get worse as long as the federal government ​continues to allow housing to be treated like a stock market. Immediate action needs to be taken to crack down on speculation ​that is driving up the cost of housing."

The Parliamentary Budget Officer indicated that housing affordability will only continue to grow if nothing is done. Canada’s population-adjusted housing stock is the lowest in the G7, with Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta being the worst affected provinces. In Ontario alone, 650,000 units would be required to reach the same level of homes per capita as the average in other provinces.

MEDIA RELEASE - Liberals are not helping people find a home they can afford

“Just 3 months ago, Justin Trudeau looked Canadians in the eyes and promised to tackle a housing crisis that has unfolded under his government,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. “This week’s Fiscal Update confirmed one thing — these were just more empty words. The ultra-rich are Justin Trudeau’s priority, not you and your family. New Democrats will continue to fight to make sure every Canadian can afford a place to call home.”

Parliament Video: Question Period - Where’s the promise For Indigenous By Indigenous Housing Strategy?

On November 29 2021, MP Jenny Kwan asked her first Question in the new Parliament on Housing for Indigenous Peoples living in urban, rural and northern communities.

IN THE NEWS: Hill Times - New House set to return as Liberal government faces unfinished legislative business with potential NDP ally

Ms. Kwan, who insisted that the NDP will press the Liberal government hard to move on a myriad of issues starting with seniors who received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit during the pandemic and who have now either seen their Guaranteed Income Supplement payments reduced or lost leaving some of them unable to pay rent.

“Housing affordability is a paramount issue—whether it’s someone who is homeless or those trying to get into the market for the first time,” said Ms. Kwan, the NDP’s housing critic.
She explained that the affordability issue touches health care too, where one of her constituents recently told her of being unable to cover the cost of cancer medication—a shining example, in Ms. Kwan’s view, of why her party will continue to press the Liberal government on universal pharmacare.

The Liberals will have an eager and unrelenting ally in the New Democrats to pursue action in addressing “the climate crisis before us,” said Ms. Kwan, a former NDP cabinet minister in British Columbia. “Canada has yet to meet a COP target since Paris in 2015.”

In her opinion, she said Mr. Trudeau also missed an opportunity to advance reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous peoples this year by both vacationing in Tofino, B.C. on the country’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (Sept. 30), and later by his government filing an appeal of a Federal Court decision upholding a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling on Indigenous child-welfare compensation, while continuing to negotiate an out-of-court settlement.

In her role as federal NDP critic for immigration, refugees and citizenship, Ms. Kwan has another issue she will hammer home when the House resumes sitting.   “Immigration is in complete chaos right now. The backlog for every stream is mind boggling,” she explained.

“There was already a backlog before the pandemic, and with the pandemic, immigration processing was severely debilitated. Amidst all of that, the Liberals decided to call an election on the day [Aug. 15] when there was a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.”

IN THE NEWS: Globe & Mail - Federal funding helps salvage Downtown Eastside Vancouver social housing project

The project had to be put on pause in June when the CMHC financing did not come through at the last minute. Anhart co-founder Keith Wiebe and MP Jenny Kwan said the pause was the result of the CMHC treating non-profits like commercial builders when they are granting low-cost financing.

The site has been sitting with a hole in the ground and some early signs of construction since.

IN THE NEWS: Globe & Mail: CMHC funding model questioned after halt of non-profit Vancouver housing project

In Mr. Pomeroy’s analysis, rents for projects supported by CMHC in the Vancouver area could have gone as high as $2,150, in 2017 dollars, even though average local rents at that time were only $1,650.
NDP MP Jenny Kwan, who represents the East Vancouver riding in which the Anhart project is located, has been raising concerns about the Rental Construction Financing Initiative for months. This latest development, she said, has confirmed her worst fears.
“This was a non-profit trying to deliver affordable units. But non-profits are not really able to get access to this money for the community,” she said. She added that Anhart is in an unusual position because it received conditional approval for a loan and then had it rescinded. She has heard from other housing groups that simply haven’t applied, or were rejected because they didn’t meet the program requirements.

IN THE NEWS: Globe & Mail - CMHC funding model questioned after half of non-profit Vancouver housing project

NDP MP Jenny Kwan, who represents the East Vancouver riding in which the Anhart project is located, has been raising concerns about the Rental Construction Financing Initiative for months. This latest development, she said, has confirmed her worst fears.

“This was a non-profit trying to deliver affordable units. But non-profits are not really able to get access to this money for the community,” she said. She added that Anhart is in an unusual position because it received conditional approval for a loan and then had it rescinded. She has heard from other housing groups that simply haven’t applied, or were rejected because they didn’t meet the program requirements.