The office of federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson says the Liberal government remains committed to cutting municipal development charges in half, after the minister was vague about fulfilling the promise at a news conference in Toronto on Tuesday.
Robertson was asked if the government was still going to cut the fees to lower the cost of homebuilding.
“Development charges are a significant challenge for the cost of building across Canada, and that’s why we made a commitment to reduce those charges,” Robertson said, without detailing where the government is at with its changes.
“We initially were looking at 50 per cent reduction in partnership with provinces and territories. We’re working through that process now across the country.”
The minister suggested more details will come in the federal budget on Nov. 4.
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Robertson’s press secretary Renee Proctor later confirmed to The Canadian Press the commitment to cut development charges was still in effect.
“Canadians gave us a mandate to move quickly, lower costs and get housing built. As was outlined in the platform, we’re committed to cutting municipal development charges in half for multi-unit residential housing. We’re looking forward to having more to say soon,” she said.
The Liberals’ spring election platform vowed to cut development charges in half for five years by working with provinces and territories to fill gaps left by foregone revenue. The platform cited upcoming federal investments in water, power lines and wastewater systems as ways to offset the lost cash.
Development charges — fees paid by builders primarily to cover the infrastructure costs associated with new housing — have been a rapidly growing source of funding for municipalities in recent years.
Some advocates say those rising fees add to the cost of building and undermine efforts to fill the housing supply gap in Canada.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said at the same media event that financing is a major hurdle keeping many builders from breaking ground, and that’s why the city is talking with Ottawa about adjusting development charges.
“We’re really focused on bringing the cost of building down. That’s the goal here,” Robertson told reporters.
“Infrastructure for cities is a huge part of that cost, and development charges — certainly here in Toronto and Vancouver, my hometown — are very closely connected to that infrastructure cost.”
Proctor also pointed to Robertson telling the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention last month that Ottawa plans to create a program to “strike a balance” between reducing development charges and ensuring local governments are investing in housing infrastructure.
Robertson said at the time that tackling building costs this way can be tricky because municipalities handle development fees differently across the country, and some don’t charge them at all.
“There is no simple fix but we will be introducing these improvements later this fall,” he said in September.
The minister was in Toronto to announce federal funding for the city’s sewer infrastructure and for the first housing project to go forward through the government’s new affordable housing agency, Build Canada Homes.
The federal government will provide up to $283 million through the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund to upgrade the city’s Black Creek sewer system, alongside $425 million in funding from the city.
The sewer currently serves some 350,000 residents. Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada said in a media release that improvements to the line will allow Toronto to expand the system to support building an additional 63,000 homes.
The first Build Canada Homes project will see 540 units added at Arbo Downsview, at least 40 per cent of which will be affordable housing. The agency will launch a request for qualifications this week for developers that can use factory-built housing technologies to deliver the project.
