Red tape complicating Canada’s housing crisis, CFIB says

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says municipal governments can address the national housing shortage by simplifying their permitting processes and reducing red tape.

A Tuesday report from the CFIB evaluated the types of permits and fees in 12 cities across Canada for what CFIB calls a “micro scenario”: converting a powder room to a full bathroom, with a price point of $20,000. 

“We found that some of the simplest projects, such as a bathroom project, could have some serious red tape,” Duncan Robertson, senior policy analyst with the CFIB and co-author of the report, told BNN Bloomberg in a Tuesday interview.

“We believe that cutting red tape and the permitting and approval process is a cost-efficient way to really speed up the home construction process.”