VICTORIA — British Columbia’s 2023 budget spends big on housing and Metro Vancouver and the Canadian Homebuilders’ Association of B.C. (CHBA BC) are on board.
“This budget signals that the B.C. government is serious about removing the barriers and red tape fuelling the housing shortage that exists in the province,” said CHBA BC CEO Neil Moody in a news release.
The budget includes $1 billion for a new Growing Communities Fund, $91 million for a project to give financial incentives to homeowners to build secondary-suites, $77 million to modernize permitting, $57 million to reduce the time and cost around approval processes and $11 million to implement the Housing Supply Act.
“However, more supports are needed to help the industry meet its CleanBC goals,” Moody said.
CleanBC funding enhancements have been cut by more than 50 per cent, from $24 million to $11 million.
Data from the CMHC estimates more than 500,000 new homes need to be built in B.C. to restore affordability.
In a news release, Metro Vancouver wrote it “welcomes the B.C. government’s commitments in its 2023 budget to tackling the housing crisis and building the infrastructure that people rely on.”
The $4.2 billion investment for more homes is cohesive with Metro Van’s plan to deliver more than 2,000 new units over the next decade, it says.
“Our governments share many of the same priorities and it is crucial that we work together to continue joint investments in building and maintaining resilient infrastructure and services,” said vice-chair of the Metro Van Board of Directors, John McEwen, in the release.
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