C-227 – The National Strategy on Housing for Young Canadians Act – creates a national strategy to help young Canadians afford housing.
The first important note is who counts as a “young Canadian”. C-227 classifies this as anyone aged 17 to 34.
The “Minister” in charge of this strategy is very different from past strategies and frameworks we’ve looked at, and it’s worth talking about here. Unlike other strategies which are handed to the Minister closest aligned with the goal of the strategy, this one will be assigned to a member of the King’s Privy Council. The Privy Council is made up of cabinet ministers (current and former), the Chief Justice, former chief justices, former speakers of both the House of Commons and the Senate, former Governors General, and “distinguished individuals”. So just about anyone could be on the Privy Council, and membership is for life. A quick look through the list of people on the Privy Council shows current members include Maxime Bernier, Chrystia Freeland, Pierre Poilievre, and every former Prime Minister. So yeah, the role of building this strategy could be handed to pretty much anyone, including people who don’t currently hold an elected office. (Stephen Harper or Justin Trudeau could be given the job, and there really isn’t any way to hold them accountable for the work they do as neither are elected officials anymore.)
So now we get into the strategy itself. As always the Minister will be expected to hold consultations on what needs to be done. They’ll need to speak to provincial representatives, municipalities, young Canadians, youth-serving organizations, and other stakeholders. The strategy will need to asses the current state of housing affordability and availability, including rentals, student housing, and entry-level homes for ownership. It will need to include measures to:
- Improve access to affordable and secure rental housing
- Support young Canadians looking to buy their first home
- Promote the construction of rental housing, student housing, co-operative housing, and housing that is affordable for first-time buyers
- Encourage knowledge-sharing and coordination between the feds, provinces, and municipalities
- Identify ways to reduce barriers preventing young Canadians from getting affordable and secure housing
It will also need to consider existing federal frameworks and strategies as well as relevant provincial and municipal initiatives.
The Minister will have 18 months to create this strategy with a follow-up happening within four years.
Progress of C-227
C-227 is currently waiting for its Second Reading vote.
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