OTTAWA | The Trudeau government is asking Quebec to assess the impact on housing construction that the abolition of a federal fund that Pierre Poilievre’s conservatives have promised to cut if they take power could have.
In a letter sent to his Quebec counterpart, the federal Minister of Housing, Sean Fraser, maintains that Mr. Poilievre would not honor the 900 million agreement signed with Quebec.
The agreement should help build some 23,000 more housing units than planned by 2028, including 8,000 affordable units, according to Minister Fraser.
“In this context, I would like to have clarification on the potential impact that the cancellation of the next transfers as part of our agreement could have on housing in Quebec,” asks Sean Fraser in his letter sent to France-Élaine Duranceau , of which The Journal got a copy.
The Liberal lieutenant in Quebec, Jean-Yves Duclos, went further on the social network
Bureaucratic
The Conservative leader promised last week to eliminate the 5% GST on the sale of homes worth $1 million and less.
He plans to finance his proposal by abolishing two liberal programs aimed at stimulating housing construction, including the Fund to Accelerate Housing Construction (FACL), under which Ottawa plans to pay $900 million to Quebec.
Asked to clarify whether the abolition of this fund would threaten this agreement, the Conservative Party reiterated its promise to eliminate the GST on the sale of million-dollar homes by “abolishing $8 billion in bureaucratic programs.”
However, Conservative MPs have personally written to Minister Fraser in recent months to help their communities receive money from this federal fund, revealed The Canadian Press last week.
Not a good idea
On Monday, Mr. Poilievre invited the provincial premiers to also abolish their respective provincial taxes on the sale of homes.
According to the Conservative leader, abolishing the sales tax on homes worth less than $1 million will make “housing more affordable for buyers,” and “will lead to the construction of 30,000 additional homes each year.”
Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard indicated last week that he found this measure “costly for Quebec” and ineffective in boosting construction.
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