Ottawa, mayors won’t ‘slow things down’ on housing despite premiers’ criticism

Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser says he was also surprised by the backlash from premiers over housing deals with municipalities — but is not planning to back down.

The mayor of Halifax, which recently secured a deal with Ottawa to fast-track the building of thousands of new homes, says he was caught off guard by recent complaints from premiers over being left out of funding agreements between the federal government and cities.

Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser, who has been travelling across Canada to highlight such agreements made directly with cities, says he was also surprised by the backlash — but is not planning to back down.

The mayor of Winnipeg, which still hoping for its own request to be approved, says he is more focused on getting the money quickly, rather than which level of government pays the bills.

The latest irritant in the relationship between Ottawa and the premiers came to a head on Monday. After their meeting in Halifax, provincial and territorial leaders released a communique that called for federal funding “that flows exclusively through provinces and territories” to address housing needs and support long-term capital planning.

It comes after the federal government has signed agreements with cities such as Halifax, Calgary, Hamilton as part of the Housing Accelerator Fund program that began rolling out this summer.

But the federal government and several mayors are doubling down on the need to get funds flowing to cities as quickly as possible.

The Liberals have been encouraging municipalities to submit applications that would change municipal bylaws and regulations to promote densification, such as eliminating building height restrictions or parking standards, and reducing red tape.

On Wednesday, Fraser said he had not previously heard any complaints from the provinces about the program.