“tax the wealthy” - I would say that in particular this should be taxing wealth. Canada is in the unique position that most of the wealth in this country is real-estate, and therefore has a street address. Capital flight is much more difficult under that circumstance. The guy who owns three houses and a few condos and a car-dealership is far more interesting than a well-paid surgeon, but one owes more of their lifestyle to their wealth rather than their labour. I tend to dislike Jagmeet Singh on policy issues but I think he’s spot on about it being time for wealth taxes in Canada.

Normally I’m pretty neoliberal when it comes to the housing crisis (ie: a huge part of the problem is overregulation) but at this point the solution will require undoing decades of damage and that will mean a need for below-market housing at least until the free market can catch up, if not forever. Taxing Canada’s wealthy land-owners is an obvious way to fund this, since they’re the ones profiting the most from this shortage.

Markets do not solve the problems they create. When the desired outcome is housing security rather than profit, governments must regulate markets and support non-market housing.

This argument would make sense if it were primarily a market-created problem, but the reality is we made constructing housing basically illegal while stepping up immigration. The combination of municipal NIMBYist anti-densification policies and hyper-elaborate guidelines with the provincial Green Belt (which is a good idea if densification is permitted but it wasn’t) and the Federal canceling of subsidies on market-rate purpose-built rental housing, and climbing immigration (something that’s otherwise excellent) are what created the problem. Not “markets”.

It should not be a surprise that housing prices – both rental and ownership – skyrocket when building housing is de jure illegal. Every new build requires one-off hearings and multi-year permission processes to get exceptions made to the “guidelines” that are actually rules. If something is legal only with a special government executive decision, then it’s not legal, unless you consider murder to be legal in the USA because they have pardons.

If you listen to below-market-rent subsidized home builders, you’ll hear the same complaints. They want to build, but can’t.

Don’t take my word for it, see this video of deposition by Mark Richardson of Housing Now TO:

https://mastodon.social/@Pxtl/110300343308877005

I loathe the Poilievre conservatives, but they’re right about this. First step to stopping the housing crisis is to kick some municipal government ass. Trudeau is trying to do it with carrots through the Housing Accelerator Fund, but it’s long-since time for sticks and not carrots.

Shows why Canadian news companies should be getting into the Fediverse.

I feel like he’s also forcing his eyes open wider. He tends to squint when he’s relaxed, and these days his brow is constantly furrowed. Like, he’s always trying to make himself look surprised to fight against his own natural squint.

It must be exhausting.

I mean governments have various things they can do. Push hard on cities that are blocking construction through obstruction or sloth. Prioritize tradesmen as immigrants. Use the powers of the federal government to create a national vacant unit registry so that lower tiers of government don’t have to run vacant unit taxes on the honour system. Allow single-stair multi-unit dwellings. Fund rental construction like they did before Chretien/Martin. Reduce the requirements to get your trade papers (apprenticeships are good but 5 years before your electrician papers seriously???)

It’s just that governments would rather argue about bullshit. Ford is focused on the fucking Ontario Place spa. Poilievre and Postmedia are flinging shit about bail reform. The CBC is, as ever, up its own ass about complete obscure nonsense. Trudeau is a fountain of empty nothings, as he has been since he lost Gerry Butts. Jagmeet is talking about the housing issue, but only in ways to throw more money at buyers and renters to juice demand in a supply-side shortage, which is basically subsidizing landlords.

Houses are going for millions. Skilled trades are in short supply. The message for tradies should be loud and clear: raise your prices. Whatever you’re being paid, it’s not enough. Everybody else is gouging in this shortage, you should too. Get that bag.