Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Good morning to the committee.
My name is Mathieu Bélanger and I'm an urban planner. I'm also the executive director of Policy and Public Affairs at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, or FCM.
FCM is the voice of local government in Canada. It brings together more than 2,100 municipalities in every province and territory, representing just over 92% of Canada's population.
I am pleased to speak today on issues related to housing affordability, a topic which, as you know, is crucial to the well-being of Canadians in every region of the country.
Municipalities are facing the challenges associated with the housing crisis, whether it's providing emergency accommodation for asylum seekers or refugees, finding innovative solutions to chronic homelessness or dealing with the growing number of urban encampments. Every day, municipalities act to support and accelerate the creation of new housing by improving and simplifying their administrative practices.
At the same time, municipalities are doing everything they can to ensure that new community and social housing is created quickly. For these reasons, it is important to recognize the need for urgent financial support from the federal, provincial and territorial governments.
As we know, the CMHC estimates that an additional 3.5 million new housing units are needed above the current trend if we are going to restore housing affordability by 2030. Considering the current unprecedented population growth that our country is experiencing, we must enable our municipalities to fully play their crucial roles in reaching that target.
Population growth is positive and transformative for Canada, and many of our communities are seeing accelerated housing construction. Metropolitan areas across the country, such as Halifax, Moncton, Kingston, Calgary and Victoria, had their highest numbers of new housing starts in 2023. All over Canada, cities and municipalities—urban and rural—are accelerating permitting, simplifying zoning rules and streamlining approvals to make sure that units can get built faster.
I'll just give you a few examples. As you probably know, Toronto now permits multiplexes city-wide, and since last year, new rules allow for up to four units on a single lot. In Edmonton, the city passed a density-boosting zoning bylaw, allowing three-storey apartments and row housing city-wide. Kelowna's laneway project has resulted in many new units through innovative infill development.
Also, many municipalities have recently accessed new funding through the housing accelerator fund. This program makes a real difference, as it facilitates the modernization of planning and approval tools and helps to fund actions to unlock housing development. It demonstrates the innovative and responsive nature of municipalities.
However—and I want to be very clear on this—in Canada, we don't just need new housing units. We also need complete neighbourhoods with good public services. We need buses running regularly and on time. We need communities where nobody is left behind without a roof at nighttime. New housing units are needed to improve affordability, but we also need the infrastructure that goes with them.
This infrastructure is mainly owned and maintained by municipalities. Here we're talking about the roads and the subway you are using to commute, the parks where you go for a walk, the facility where your trash is recycled or the shelters for homeless people. Growing the housing supply to restore affordability without thinking about the infrastructure that sustains it won't lead us to success.
In Brampton, Ontario, it was recently estimated that the infrastructure investment required to support the planned housing growth up to 2031 will come to approximately $2 billion, which is significant. This example shows how communities are facing very substantial funding shortfalls when it's time to grow the housing supply.
We need new infrastructure funding to grow the housing supply and, in the short term, address water and waste-water infrastructure and adaptation to climate change. This is the basic minimum. In the long term, in order to ensure that Canada's growth is successful, we need a new, more equitable way to fund local governments. It is high time that we equip municipalities with revenue tools that are linked to national population and economic growth. Local governments need to be able to count on diverse, adequate and predictable sources of revenue.
Accordingly, FCM is calling on the federal government to commit in budget 2024 to convening provinces, territories and municipalities to negotiate a new municipal growth framework. This will position Canada to enable long-term growth and prosperity and better respond to the need of a rapidly growing population. It will also help to provide the infrastructure that new housing needs and contribute to restoring affordability while moving toward ending homelessness.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.