
Parliament representatives are set to revisit their desks at the House of Commons come Monday, amidst impending major reforms regarding housing and cost of living proposed by the governing Liberals.
Aiming to halt their steadily declining popularity as indicated by recent polls, the Liberals are making bold promises to stimulate and expedite housing construction in the rental sector. Key to this plan involves waving the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the production costs of new rental units, a move that is likely to intensify the housing construction market.
Additionally, Monday will witness a meeting summoned by the Liberals with the chief executives of Canada’s leading grocery chains. The intended goal of this gathering is to establish effective strategies to alleviate the ongoing food inflation issue.
However, the Liberal’s plans are being contested by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. He accuses Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of being the root cause of the existing problems with affordability and housing shortfall in Canada. Poilievre is set to present new housing legislation this week, which also proposes the removal of GST from new rental constructions. To further push housing expansion, he suggests withholding federal housing funds from cities that fail to augment their annual housing starts.
In response, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland asserts that the Conservatives are offering nothing substantial. According to her, their strategies simply rely on catchy slogans devised to stoke public anger, prioritising grievance over the promise of better days.