Ontario looks at counting student residences toward aim of building 1.5 million homes
BNN Bloomberg
Ontario is considering counting student residences toward its target of building 1.5 million homes in 10 years, a move opposition parties criticized as a new attempt to inflate the numbers as the province is not on track to meet the goal otherwise.
Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra wrote in a letter to Mississauga's acting mayor last month that the ministry is tracking housing starts as defined by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, in addition to counting long-term care beds, but it is also now looking at counting more types of units.
"We will continue to explore data sources for tracking the numbers of other institutional types of housing such as student residences and retirement homes for future program years and commit to engaging municipalities on the same," he wrote.
More student housing is desperately needed, opposition leaders said, but it shouldn't count toward the goal of building 1.5 million homes.
