Many of my constituents in Etobicoke Centre are struggling with the cost of renting and buying a home. Recently at the Standing Committee on Finance, I asked the Chief Economist at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation why housing prices have gone up so much and what we must do to solve it. His response in a nutshell - Since 2004, the supply of housing has not kept up with demand. To make housing more affordable, we need to build a lot more homes as quickly as possible.
That is why the Federal Government announced last month that we will be removing the GST on construction of new rental apartment buildings effective immediately. We are encouraging provinces to do the same. This will incentivize the building of more rental housing, increasing supply which is what we must do to lower rental costs for Canadians.
