Some excellent ideas were proposed during the Ontario election on everything from transit to housing. Here’s why the rest of Canada would be wise to consider them.
Both major parties have policies aimed at helping low and middle income earners buy homes. But they’re both stopgap solutions – and too many buyers, renters and even investors will pay the price.
Building houses better at withstanding the impacts of climate change is one way we can protect ourselves in the face of future catastrophic conditions.
Finding stable housing is one of the biggest challenges facing prison leavers. Access to public housing has been found to flatten the curve on rates of recidivism.
Labor’s scheme will get people into homeownership who would have otherwise missed out. The Coalition’s will get people already likely to buy into houses sooner.
We must meaningfully include newcomers and refugees in the formulation of policies that address structural constraints that affect them during times of crisis.
Canadians need to take steps to better address the financial insecurity of seniors. Otherwise, Canada may encounter a growing tide of desperate seniors in the near future.
When private contractors build schools they don’t necessarily meet the needs of communities for a lower cost than what governments can provide, and there’s less public accountability.
Affordable housing has become a middle-class problem, and Ontario’s latest housing report reflects an approach that continues to marginalize those with the greatest need.
While the idea of rent controls can seem attractive at first glance, the evidence suggests the government is right to be sceptical of their ability to help ease the housing crisis.
Professor; School of Economics, Finance and Property, and Director, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Curtin Research Centre, Curtin University
Professor of Social Epidemiology and Director of the Centre of Research Excellence in Healthy Housing at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne