The housing minister said 750 new homes have been built in 2 years. It's less ... much less
CBC
Sheltered, a CBC Investigates series, examines the housing crisis in Newfoundland and Labrador — telling the stories of the people living it, while scrutinizing the policies and politics behind it.
When Social Development Minister Paul Pike unveiled seven newly completed public housing units at a news conference in Gander two weeks ago, he expounded on the government's recent achievements in helping give people places to live in Newfoundland and Labrador.
"In the last two years we've built 750 new homes in this province," Pike told CBC News in an interview at the time.
"In the last two years, we've done 750 homes. We're on target to build another 850 homes within the next year or so. And you know there's a lot of good things going on in the province."
So where are those new homes?
"They're right across the province, in every community we've been building these homes, and the 750 mark is something that we were striving to get to. And now that's within the last two years, OK? And you know, we focused on certain areas, but basically right across the province."
It was an incredible claim — and incredibly wrong.
That number — 750 — has been used by political leaders in the province for months, although usually couched in more carefully curated language.
In March, Premier Andrew Furey referenced "over 750 new housing options advanced in the last couple of years."
In April, Pike's predecessor in the housing portfolio, John Abbott, made this statement to the legislature: "Our government has prioritized the creation of new housing options, with more than 750 new housing options constructed or under construction or subsidized over the past two years."
On Monday, as the House of Assembly reopened, the premier repeatedly leaned on the 750 figure when questioned about his nascent five-point plan to address housing affordability issues:
So how many of those 750 "housing options," dating back to 2021, are new government-owned social housing units that are currently ready to be lived in, like those unveiled in central Newfoundland earlier this month?
The answer is 11.
The six in Gander and one in Peterview that were the subject of Pike's recent press conference.
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