Roundup: Pre-approved housing plans?

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The federal government is planning to revive an old post-war CMHC programme to create a list of pre-approved housing designs as a way of speeding up the construction of new housing. The aim is to have these available for builders by the end of 2024, with various sizes and options available, in the hopes that it makes zoning and permitting decisions run smoother and faster.

One of the things this shows is that the government is listening to experts, who have been calling for this as a way for the federal government to use what levers they have to demonstrate leadership, and that’s a pretty good start. One would also have to wonder if this couldn’t also spur a movement to pre-manufacture components of these designs in order to make construction go even faster, particularly if there is an element of modularity to these designs. There does also need to be a recognition that these shouldn’t be limited to single-family dwellings, but to multi-family units including four-plexes, now that the rules around those are being relaxed in many municipalities as part of the Housing Accelerator Fund conditions, and rules around use of these designs could be conditions for future funds.

Meanwhile, check out this thread from Mike Moffatt on this particular policy move (which he was an early champion of), and we’ll see what elements the government announces as part of it later today.

https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt/status/1734354682837918043

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russia attacked Kyiv with eight ballistic missiles before dawn on Monday, which were all shot down but debris did injury people. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be in Washington today to try and convince Republicans to vote for the aid package as time runs out for Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1734231565301895538

Good reads:

  • In his year-ender with The Canadian Press, Justin Trudeau says that the Conservatives has successfully scapegoated the carbon price for affordability.
  • The federal government announced how it’s going to phase-in dental benefits, starting with seniors over the age of 87 and working back from there.
  • Mélanie Joly says that Canada supports an “accountability system” For Israel’s conduct in its war against Hamas.
  • Carla Qualtrough announced a three-person commission to examine abuse in sports, which she says is more trauma-informed than a public inquiry.
  • Patty Hajdu tabled the First Nations water legislation, and insists that consultations will continue through the legislative process.
  • Seamus O’Regan says the government will move to list Black and LGBTQ+ workers under employment equity laws.
  • CSIS Director David Vigneault says he learned some of the details of alleged Indian assassination plots on Canadian soil from the US indictment.
  • It seems that COP28 negotiations are stalling over calls for a phase-out of fossil fuels, and the oil companies and petrostates who are pushing back.
  • More proof of the economic consequences of climate change, this time around the impact on municipal finances thanks to climate events.
  • A proposed class-action lawsuit is targeting the underlying racism of the temporary foreign workers programme, as the government struggles to reform it.
  • A group of civil society women leaders want the RCMP to be sent to Israel to investigate rapes perpetrated by Hamas. (Really? With their track record?)
  • Radio-Canada actually fact-checked Pierre Poilievre’s “documentary” (unlike every English-media outlet), and lo, it’s full of lies and exaggerations. Imagine that!
  • Speaker Fergus appeared at the Procedure and House Affairs committee, where his fate will be decided, likely at the hands of the NDP.
  • The NDP are still hoping that a pharmacare bill will be tabled before the House rises for the holiday break.

Odds and ends:

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