Trudeau targets cost of living, housing affordability in throne speech – National

With groceries becoming more expensive and sky-high housing prices showing no signs of abating, Canadians are focusing on affordability problem.

As Governor Mary Simon delivered a speech from the throne detailing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plans for his third Freedom mission on Tuesday, she said Canada “must continue to address the cost of living today.” increasing.”

To do that, the government’s plan includes two key priorities: housing and childcare, she said.

The throne speech outlined the government’s promise to build more housing units each year, increase affordable housing and end chronic homelessness, all through the use of use programs as suggested by the government. $4 billion housing aid fund and “more flexible” First Home Buyer Offers.

The government also promised to introduce a rental-to-own scheme, which Freedom Platform 2020 said will “make it easier for tenants to navigate home ownership while renting.”

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Finally, Trudeau’s speech promised to increase Canada’s Child Benefit in line with the cost of living, and pledged to continue advancing childcare agreements with provinces and territories.

“Investing in affordable child care – like housing – is not just good for families. It helps develop the entire economy,” the speech said.

By addressing affordability and the cost of living, the government is addressing an issue that is top of mind for Canadians. a recent poll by Ipsos.

That poll, released on Sunday, showed concern about tag price increases for essential items like groceries and gas now ranking higher than issues like the COVID pandemic. -19, health care and housing are top concerns for Canadians.

The finding comes as inflation hit its highest level since 2003 last month – a whopping 4.7%. Rising costs have forced consumers of all ages, incomes and political beliefs to spend more to refill their storage tanks and grocery carts.

Canada’s national median home price has also increased 32% between July 2019 and July 2021, according to data from the Real Estate Association of Canada.

“What is happening in terms of public opinion, especially since the election, is that things are moving very quickly. And what they’re moving forward very quickly, is the issue of inflation and the cost of living,” Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos, said in an interview with Global News ahead of the throne speech.

“(It has been) talked about quite a bit over the course of the campaign, but it has rocketed like a rocket through space over the past few months.”

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When it comes to addressing these burning issues, however, Tuesday’s speech did not belong to Ian Lee, an associate professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University.

“The fundamental problem in Canada is that there is an imbalance between supply and demand (housing),” he said

“I don’t believe what they propose in the plan will solve the problem.”

For affordable childcare, the second pillar of Trudeau’s affordability plan, Lee said it will help some Canadians – but it won’t fix the costs living standards increase or cause inflation to drop significantly.

“The idea that this will fundamentally address inflation, or to be precise, inflation makes no sense because most people do not have access to daycare, even if this proposal solves the housing crisis. youth for everyone,” Lee said.

According to Lee, the pandemic is to blame for the rise in inflation, but he thinks government interests may have exacerbated the problem a bit.

“The response to the pandemic has led to inflation, supply chain disruptions, shortages, causing people to raise prices,” he said.

When individuals started receiving pandemic benefits like the CERB, in some cases, more than the job earnings they lost, it “disrupted the labor market,” Lee said.

“It also injects a tremendous amount of money into the system, chasing things that are now scarcer, more scarce, due to the disruption caused by the pandemic,” he said.

“And that is a classic formula for inflation. You have too much money and too few goods”.

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Lee isn’t the only critic of the throne’s promises in dealing with cost-of-living and affordability issues. Speaking to reporters after the speech was delivered, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said he would like to hear something more specific from the government.

“We heard much the same thing from the Trudeau government today,” he told reporters after hearing the speech.

“What we didn’t hear was a plan for the economy, a plan to solve the cost of living crisis.”

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh also criticized the affordability proposals during his throne speech, saying the speech “doesn’t respond to the urgency of the crises we are fighting.” .

“We had a housing crisis, (but) there was no real action to really improve or resolve the housing crisis.”

As for Quebecois Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, he said his party “will live with this blank piece of paper read softly in three languages”.

MPs will return to the House of Commons on Wednesday and will need the support of at least one other party to pass their speech in the House of Commons.