Housing crisis is a ‘complex challenge,’ says local leader

A housing summit held between the Ontario government and municipal leaders Wednesday was a “candid and unvarnished” conversation on ways to help solve the housing crisis, said Karen Redman.

“This is a very complex challenge,” said the chair of Waterloo Region.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark said he heard “great ideas” from municipal leaders. He said the government will put a plan in place and put the ideas into action.

“The housing supply crisis hurts communities in every corner of our province,” Clark said. A similar meeting of rural municipal leaders will be held on Sunday.

Some of the measures include ending exclusionary zoning, which is often referred to as addressing the “missing middle.” The push is to see more varied forms of “gentle density” such as duplexes and triplexes in areas with single family homes and along main corridors that are close to transit.

Other ideas include inclusionary zoning referring to developments with more affordable housing units made available.

“We need to look at every opportunity that presents itself and that will result in a long-term sustainable plan that will get shovels in the ground and get houses built of all different types,” Clark said.

The province said municipalities could access an $8 million audit and accountability fund to help identify potential savings.

Other issues affecting housing and why some homes are not being built include labour shortages, supply chain issues and material costs.

In the region, up to 36,000 units have been registered and draft approved but are waiting to be built, Redman said.

From January to June last year, $635 million was brought in through building permits in the Region of Waterloo.

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said tackling the housing supply issue will need all levels of government as well as the private and notfor-profit sectors to come together.

“It’s not just about home ownership. It’s about dealing with attainable housing as well as affordable housing,” Vrbanovic said. “You need supply so that people can both enter if they are New Canadians for example or move along the continuum, creating other spots for people to enter at different points.”

Vrbanovic said addressing the housing shortages will require a “paradigm shift” by all involved.