Human Resources Committee on Oct. 29th, 2024

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you to all of our witnesses here today.

It's really exciting to hear about the different technologies and different approaches that people are taking. There's no question that this is a big challenge for us as Canadians, and the adoption of many different types of technologies will help in the long-term.

I'll start with Mr. Arthur. It's nice to see you. We served in the Ontario legislature together. It's nice that you're continuing to build Canada, literally. Thank you for the work you're doing.

You mentioned that there are other jurisdictions where there's been faster adoption of 3D printing. You mentioned the United States and parts of Europe. What does that difference look like? Can you talk a little bit about why there's a stark difference between what's happening here in Canada and in the United States, for example?

[Ian Arthur]

I think there are a couple of factors at play. We're doing work down in Florida right now, and there is definitely a little bit more of a gung-ho attitude down there. I'd say the only place that we've found sort of like that in Canada is probably Alberta, where there's a little more willingness to take on some risk, to try brand new things and prove it out.

I also think there's a better support ecosystem, and there's a group we're working with down in Florida right now that is working on accessing DARPA funding for a series of projects.

That sort of nimble and highly effective government agency for spurring innovation would be a wonderful thing to see here in Canada. Unfortunately, I don't think any of the institutions we have here are as effective as they are in the U.S. at bringing new technologies to market and then allowing them to scale.

I talked about the problem of an endless amount of pilots and not a lot of support for scaling, and I think that's a really big part of that. The support from government needs to be there for companies to build themselves out to where they do actually move the needle on housing supply.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

I know you do a lot if you're working in the Kingston area. How long does it take? I know it depends on the size of home, but if you had the average structure, how long would it take you to build today?

[Ian Arthur]

The last building we printed was 2,600 square feet, a single storey. We printed it in four days. The first building we built took three months. We've had an 85% reduction in the speed of construction in two years, and that's continuing to accelerate. We'll be able to produce a 1,200 square foot bungalow in one to two days.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

It's incredible.

If the permitting process and all the other interactions with government were removed, how long would it take from start to finish for a person to actually move into the house?

[Ian Arthur]

I'll give you our aspirational goal because we finish printing and then still have to have the rest of the trades come on site, but it's 60 days from breaking ground to move-in day—and that's realistic.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Wow. Is that for an 1,800 square foot home?

[Ian Arthur]

Yep.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Wow, okay.

Thank you very much for the work you're doing and for being here.

Mr. Jain, how are you?

[Hans Jain]

Good, thank you.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

You're from my neck of the woods. Every time I drive to Ottawa, I go right past where I believe you're developing, at the Scarborough Town Centre. I've seen the land that's been kind of sectioned off. You haven't started developing yet, correct?

[Hans Jain]

We're excavating and shoring, and we've done the geothermal field for the two towers. We should have our cranes up shortly.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

These are rental units. Is that correct?

[Hans Jain]

That's correct.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

How many rental units will you actually develop in the area?

[Hans Jain]

Currently we're at just under 1,600 units in four towers.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Wow.

[Hans Jain]

The two towers will be 904 units.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

You talked about geothermal; electrochromic windows, as I think you called them; and the VRF system.

With all of those systems, does it end up costing the actual end user more money, or eventually do you actually end up saving some money with these technologies? It sounds like it would reduce the cost of living through energy consumption. Is that correct?

[Hans Jain]

Yes. There's the initial expense of putting geothermal in and the VRF system, your envelope and looking through all that is available, but at the end of the day, the person living in your unit will see their energy bill and energy consumption go down.

It's really a long-term play, so we feel we're also part of it. We take in CMHC financing, and some of their goalposts are energy efficiency, accessibility and affordability. We've kind of moved in that direction and even taken it further. We also feel we hold the product long term, and you're seeing with financial institutions where this is important in financing. How is that building going to perform 10 years from now or 20 years from now? That's something that we take very seriously, our buildings performing well over time. There's comfort and also cost savings for our tenants.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

You're five seconds under.

Madame Chabot, go ahead for six minutes.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses.

Our study is on advancements in home building technologies. I would note that we've already conducted a study on the impact of artificial intelligence technologies on the labour force in Canada.

Mr. Arthur, you talked about labour. If I understood you correctly, Canada is lagging behind in advancements in building technologies, which will have an impact on the labour force, but future developments will enable us to recruit new workers. However, the workers' representatives we heard from said that workers are also part of the solution and that training is an important element.

How do you think the current workforce will help bring about change in the construction sector?

[Ian Arthur]

I don't think that what I said and what you're saying are in opposition. I think the current skilled labour force needs to be a huge part of this, and we have to provide that training. There is a reality, though, that there is a mass number of retirements happening out of the skilled trades right now, and we are not training new skilled workers fast enough to replace the people who are leaving. If we don't convince a new generation to go into the skilled trades, the data says there will be a huge problem at the end of that road. That scarcity is going to continue to drive up the costs of housing for Canadians.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

It seems like we're on the same page. That was an important thing for you to clarify. Sometimes, we see existing workers as disposable and we rely on a new generation of workers. You're right that there's a labour shortage in construction, but it doesn't affect all sectors. We still need workers in those trades. Based on what we've heard from some of the labour representatives, new workers are essential, but so are workers who are already on the job, because they can help develop new technologies and future advancements. Thank you. That's an important clarification.

I would now like to ask Ms. Fiorellino a question.

According to a press release that came out in February, you received a $3.5‑million grant from the federal government. Is that correct?

If so, what were the details of that grant? Was it through a federal program? Was it your first grant? Is that kind of funding helpful to you?