RESCON hosting free housing crisis summit online Oct. 6

Ontario Construction News staff writer

The Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) is hosting a free online summit on Oct. 6, to discuss ways to boost housing supply in the province and initiatives to address the current crisis.

Click here to register.

Speakers will include Minister of Housing Steve Clark with update on legislative and policy initiatives announced by the province that aim to increase the supply of housing stock and RESCON president Richard Lyall who will summarize what’s happened since the summit held last March that explored short- and long-term solutions to the problem.

“Although the homebuilding industry has slowed due to a variety of factors such as supply chain problems, material shortages, inflation and rising interest rates, our population continues to grow and with more than 400,000 immigrants coming to Canada each year, the need is still great,” Lyall said in a statement. “We are in a full-blown housing crisis on a scale that has never been seen in several generations and will only be able to build the number of homes required for our growing population if all three levels of government embrace bold initiatives.

Click here to view the lineup of speakers.

Canada has the lowest amount of housing per capita and the highest cost of housing in the G7.

“The Province of Ontario has started the ball rolling with three laws intended to improve the housing supply chain. All three levels of government have a unique role to play, and we need an all-hands-on-deck approach to tackle this critical issue.”

The Housing Supply Summit 2.0: Progress Report will feature panel discussions on outstanding housing reforms needed to increase the supply of housing and waysto achieve widespread choice in housing. The summit runs from 1 to 5 p.m. and the online lobby will open at 12:30 p.m.

Toronto Regional Real Estate Board chief market analyst Jason Mercer will present a housing market outlook for 2022 and Ted Tsiakopoulos, senior economist/specialist at CMHC, will highlight how co-ordination between transit and land use policies can help fill supply gaps identified in a recently released CMHC supply report.

Arash Shahi, CEO of AECO Innovation Lab, will speak about digitizing the development approvals process and a pilot in Simcoe County that acts as proof of concept for the One Ontario initiative.

As outlined by the Housing Affordability Task Force, Ontario needs more than 1.5 million new homes within the next decade. In Toronto, however, policy changes are slated to be implemented over the next 12 to 18 months that will drive up costs and be passed on to new home buyers, Lyall said.

“This summit is a great opportunity for developers, builders, construction industry stakeholders, and government representatives to learn more about what needs to be done to solve the problem,” he said. “It is extremely timely as municipal elections are to be held just a few weeks after the summit date.”

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