Mr. Chair, housing is very local. Housing construction is very local. I talk to developers and not-for-profit housing developers all the time. It is very difficult to work through the levels of permitting and approvals required at the local level.
In budget 2022, there was a new initiative announced by the government, called the housing accelerator fund. CMHC is in the process of developing that. The purpose of that fund is to provide incentives at the municipal level to unlock those barriers at the local level.
I don't always want to cast.... I know there are many ex-municipal politicians in the room. It's very easy to point fingers in the housing space. Sometimes the barriers are not because of bureaucracy. They're also because of things like neighbourhood opposition and the lack of skilled trades in specific neighbourhoods. Housing is complex, and the barriers are complex. It's up to each municipal government or locality to address those.