The land restrictions that exist in markets like Toronto and Vancouver are a major reason for the lack of availability of building. These kinds of zoning restrictions have been proven to drive up housing costs. A recent paper by the Brookings Institution that was co-authored by a Harvard-trained economist showed that these kinds of restrictions are particularly hard on impoverished minorities, who, over decades, moved towards greater social equality by migrating to where job opportunities were—big cities, where there was lots of employment. Building restrictions imposed by municipal and state governments have made housing unaffordable for such people, and therefore they are shut out of economic opportunities. It's very good for the wealthy, of course, because their home values are inflated by government restrictions on supply, but very damaging for low-income people who are not yet in the housing market.
Would CMHC commit to studying the impact of excessive government restrictions on housing construction on the social mobility of low-income people in pursuit of opportunity?