THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE ON BANKING, COMMERCE AND THE ECONOMY
EVIDENCE
OTTAWA, Wednesday, May 27, 2026
The Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy met this day with videoconference at 3:17 p.m. [ET] to study the subject matter of Bill C-20, An Act respecting the establishment of Build Canada Homes.
Senator Clément Gignac (Chair) in the chair.
[Translation]
The Chair: Honourable senators, I wish to welcome you and all those watching us today on CPAC or on the sencanada.ca website.
My name is Clément Gignac. I am a senator from Quebec and chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy. Before we continue, I’d like to invite my colleagues to introduce themselves.
[English]
Senator Fridhandler: Daryl Fridhandler, Alberta.
Senator Pupatello: Sandra Pupatello, Ontario.
Senator Galvez: Senator Rosa Galvez, Quebec.
Senator Loffreda: Welcome. Senator Tony Loffreda from Montréal, Quebec.
Senator Ince: Welcome. Senator Tony Ince, Nova Scotia.
[Translation]
Senator Ringuette: Pierrette Ringuette from New Brunswick.
Senator Youance: Suze Youance from Quebec.
[English]
Senator McBean: Senator Marnie McBean, Toronto, Ontario.
Senator Henkel: Senator Danièle Henkel, Quebec.
Senator Wallin: Senator Pamela Wallin, Saskatchewan.
Senator Martin: Hello. Yonah Martin, British Columbia.
[Translation]
The Chair: I’d like to remind everyone to keep earpieces away from microphones at all times to protect our interpreters. Honourable senators, as you know, the Senate adopted an order of reference on May 7, 2026 authorizing this committee to examine and report on the subject matter of Bill C-20, An Act respecting the establishment of Build Canada Homes, which was introduced in the House of Commons on February 5, 2026.
Since the bill is being studied at the House of Commons, the Senate has asked this committee to undertake what is known as a pre-study. Before we begin today’s meeting, I’d like to invite one of our esteemed members, Senator Pierrette Ringuette, to address this committee on behalf of Senator Varone, the bill’s sponsor. Senator Ringuette, you have the floor.
[English]
Senator Ringuette: Honourable senators, the following are remarks on behalf of Senator Varone. Believe me, Senator Varone remains the very proud sponsor of Bill C-20. They go like this:
Thank you, colleagues, for the opportunity to address you as the sponsor of Bill C-20, An Act respecting the establishment of Build Canada Homes.
As we commence this pre-study on Bill C-20, I would like to state at the outset that I am in full support of this legislation. I embrace the fact that the federal government has taken the lead to create non-market housing at a time when it is most needed throughout Canada. The potential scale of this enterprise is unprecedented.
This bill underscores the essential significance of housing, framing it not just as a basic necessity but as a cornerstone of human dignity and a pillar of social justice. Every Canadian deserves a decent place to call home.
For over a year, Prime Minister Carney has emphasized the necessity for the government to actively engage in the construction of affordable housing. Colleagues, Bill C-20 is a crucial step toward ensuring we achieve this objective effectively and expeditiously.
Bill C-20 proposes the establishment of the Crown corporation of Build Canada Homes, a strategic initiative designed to transform surplus government lands into vibrant housing communities. Rather than creating a new bureaucracy, this bill builds upon the outstanding work of the Canada Lands Company Limited, a Crown corporation with which I had the honour of serving for five years prior to my appointment to the Senate. On the Canada Lands Company Limited, I chaired the Governance Committee and the Real Estate Committee, giving me insight into its expansive land holdings and insight into the duty and care of the management and reporting obligations to the government.
The Canada Lands Company Limited operates two distinct lines of business. Its attractions line manages and curates iconic Canadian landmarks, including the CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium, Downsview Park, and the Old Port of Montréal, along with the Montréal Science Centre. The second and often overlooked line focuses on the active management of surplus federal lands. When certain properties are declared surplus by the federal government, the Canada Lands Company acquires them at fair market value, evaluating their potential for redevelopment. They carry out necessary environmental remediation and collaborate with community stakeholders to create thoughtful land-use plans, effectively reintegrating these lands into Canadian society. It is important to note that their mandate did not include the direct construction of housing but centred on the value-added resale of lands to builders in the marketplace to ensure a fair return for all Canadians.
With the creation of Build Canada Homes, Bill C-20 will elevate and integrate the land management team of Canada Lands into this Crown Corporation. This legislation will not only facilitate continued land development but also foster the construction of non-market housing for all Canadians.
This initiative recognizes that dignified housing is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of personal well-being. As former President Barack Obama aptly stated, “A decent home is the cornerstone of dignity and opportunity.”
As we move forward with our pre-study of Bill C-20, let us strive toward a future where every Canadian has the housing they deserve. With that, I trust you are eager to begin. I am here —
At least I know that he is listening in regards to his support for Bill C-20. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The Chair: We will move now to the first panel. Colleagues, contrary to the usual practice, we will not receive the minister first, followed by the officials. To accommodate the minister’s agenda, we will start with officials from the department, but stay tuned; the minister will join us at 5:15 p.m. in the third panel.
Joining us now are Lindsay Boldt, Director General, Housing Policy Branch, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada and Jean-Sébastien Langelier, Executive Director, Strategic Policy and Integration Sector, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, and Ana Bailão, Chief Executive Officer of Build Canada Homes.
Welcome to our witnesses. I understand that you have some opening remarks. After that, we will go to the questions. You have the floor.
Ana Bailão, Chief Executive Officer, Build Canada Homes: Thank you, chair, and thank you, senators. Thank you to Senator Varone because we all know he is watching. We thank him for his support of this bill and his enthusiasm and wanting to ensure that we approve a bill that delivers on the promise of this Crown corporation. That is what we’re going to be talking about here — a bill that actually will deliver on the promise and the potential of Build Canada Homes.
As the chair said, I’m pleased to be joined here by Lindsay Boldt and Jean-Sébastien Langelier from Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada.
It is well understood that Canadians are facing an affordable housing crisis that has been decades in the making. Restoring affordability means building more affordable homes more quickly and at a greater scale than this country has attempted before. That is the task in front of us.
It has implications not just for the housing supply but for how Canada builds its construction industry, supports Indigenous communities and competes economically.
That is precisely what Build Canada Homes, or BCH, is built to do. Build Canada Homes will work differently by combining financial and flexible financial tools, land access and development expertise under one roof. We will make it simpler and faster to get big projects off the ground by prioritizing modern methods of construction, such as factory-built housing. We will spark a more productive homebuilding industry.
Federal efforts have long been distributed across departments, agencies and programs. That fragmentation has cost us speed and impact. The housing sector has needed a focused, empowered federal presence dedicated solely to affordable housing delivery. Build Canada Homes is a response to that fragmentation — one accountable, purpose-built vehicle where there were many before.
With Bill C-20, we will operate with the independence needed to move at the speed the market demands and with the accountability Parliament and Canadians expect.
As a Crown corporation, Build Canada Homes will have legal authority it does not currently have — to hold assets, to make equity investments and to structure complex financial transactions that attract private capital into affordable housing at scale. These are the instruments that allow Build Canada Homes to function as a sophisticated, affordable-housing developer, closing deals, structuring partnerships and unlocking capital that the current special-operating-agency model cannot access.
Furthermore, Bill C-20 establishes not just the mandate and expanded tools but the governance, the ministerial appointment of the board and CEO, annual policy guidance to the corporation and a corporate plan approved by the Treasury Board and tabled in Parliament.
Build Canada Homes is standing up a single-focus vehicle to do what no existing institution was built to do at this scale. Speed requires flexibility, and flexibility requires the right tools. For the first time, there is an affordable housing vehicle with both.
What gives me confidence is not only where we are going but how much ground we have already covered. With the initial $13 billion capitalization, we are assembling a national pipeline forging partnerships across levels of government along with the non-profit and private sectors and establishing the operational foundations this Crown corporation needs to move from day one.
Already, commitments made alongside key partners represent more than 11,000 units, which is before accounting for future partners and projects taking shape across the country through our portal and direct partnerships we are actively developing. Just last week we announced our seventh partnership, this time with the territory of Yukon, which will support the delivery of at least 500 new affordable housing units across that territory. This builds upon agreements already established between our organization and Quebec, Nova Scotia, the City of Ottawa, Nunavut, British Columbia and New Brunswick, and, like others, are demonstrating the impacts of coordinated action across jurisdictions to increase the supply of housing.
Collectively, these early partnerships signal a new era of affordable housing in Canada and establish the foundation of a national delivery model, bringing together federal, provincial and territorial governments; Indigenous partners; and the non-market and private sector to scale results over time.
These are not plans on paper; these are relationships that are active in our pipeline and growing. Bill C-20 will give us the tools to go further and faster.
As Senator Varone talked about, the transfer will also mean that key elements of the Canada Lands Company will come to Build Canada Homes and will bring federal land under a single delivery mandate. This is a meaningful step forward, enabling a more coordinated and accelerated approach to accessing and activating public lands, reducing barriers to developing and supporting the delivery of more affordable housing at scale. By consolidating these assets with BCH, the government can unlock the full potential of federal lands, reduce development timelines and better align projects with community needs. This streamlined approach will support the creation of mixed-income housing in complete communities while ensuring efficiency and financially sustainable delivery.
In just over seven months, Build Canada Homes has demonstrated what is possible. Bill C-20 builds on that platform, giving this organization the flexibility to act in concert with the market while always keeping its public policy mandate at the forefront. That is the balance this legislation strikes, and that is what matters.
I am looking forward to answering your questions.
The Chair: Thank you.
Ms. Boldt, I understand that you have some opening remarks. Please give us the “executive” version.
Lindsay Boldt, Director General, Housing Policy Branch, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada: Absolutely.
So, I will focus my remarks on a few areas to emphasize where Ms. Bailão has provided some background on Build Canada Homes. I want to set up the context with the fact that it was initially launched in September 2025 as a special operating agency within Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada. It has been given the mandate to accelerate the supply of affordable housing across Canada by leveraging public lands, deploying flexible financial tools and catalyzing modern methods of construction. These activities are supported by an initial capitalization of $13 billion and, through the initial structure as a special operating agency, Build Canada Homes can draw on the authorities of the department’s existing legal framework to advance early investments and move forward to establish partnerships.
The proposed legislation would now transition Build Canada Homes into a Crown corporation with a broader set of legislative powers and additional operational flexibility. It marks an important step in the Government of Canada’s efforts to increase housing supply and improve access to affordable housing across the country.
As a Crown corporation, Build Canada Homes will have the independence and autonomy to draw on private capital and to form partnerships that maximize federal investments while benefiting from the greatest operational flexibility to execute with the speed expected by the market.
I will pass through some of the points about the various powers within the legislation, but I do want to note something Ms. Bailão had mentioned:
[Translation]
Build Canada Homes will bring together federal resources and expertise in affordable housing funding, real estate and development to fulfill its mandate faster. By consolidating these key functions, Build Canada Homes will transform how the government works with other key housing system partners to make large-scale development projects and the mixed market financially viable and affordable over the long term.
[English]
The legislation does have several important provisions to ensure Build Canada Homes remains accountable to Parliament and Canadians. In particular, it would be subject to the Financial Administration Act, which includes established reporting and audit requirements. So, like other Crown corporations, Build Canada Homes would be required to prepare corporate plans, operating and capital budgets, annual reports and audited financial statements. Corporate plans and annual reports will be tabled in Parliament through the responsible minister.
There are also formal review mechanisms that are set out in the “Build Canada Homes act,” including a review of the act 5 years after it comes into force and every 10 years thereafter.
Ultimately, the bill seeks to balance operational flexibility with public accountability. Its purpose is to provide Build Canada Homes with the powers to deliver on its mandate while maintaining clear overside and reporting obligations to Parliament and Canadians. Thank you.
[Translation]
The Chair: Thank you.
Did you have any comments to add?
Jean-Sébastien Langelier, Executive Director, Strategic Policy and Integration Sector, Communities Canada: No, thank you.
The Chair: Colleagues, I’d like to welcome Senator Youance, who’s joining us. Welcome.
Given the time we have left, I suggest we allow three minutes per person. We have about 35 minutes to 40 minutes. We may even have time for a second round.
[English]
Senator Fridhandler: You mentioned a list of provinces and municipalities. I’m interested in your approach to Alberta because Alberta, as you probably well know, has a piece of legislation known as the Provincial Priorities Act that requires any Alberta provincial agency or municipality to get provincial government consent before they can enter into an agreement with the federal government.
Are you having issues there, or have you advanced that to any extent?
Ms. Bailão: We are in active conversations with the Province of Alberta to have an implementation table and a partnership. We’re hoping to add Alberta to the list of partnerships we will be announcing fairly soon. There is a good relationship happening. We are discussing how to work in the future, going down to a list of projects we’re both interested in supporting. There is actually great cooperation because we both understand that if we both come at the projects together, we leverage our dollars a lot better. Coordination is happening, and we’re bringing some of the municipalities into the conversation, as well.
Senator Fridhandler: Good luck, whether it is with the municipalities or the province.
Ms. Bailão: I’m an optimist, senator.
Senator Fridhandler: You talked about fragmentation in the federal government across various departments. One thing that has been identified is the Canada Lands Company and how you are going to integrate that, but nothing else, including the affordable housing side of CMHC, is mentioned in the legislation.
Can you tell me what other pieces of federal government operations on affordable housing you’re looking at and how they are going to be implemented? I would like to see that there has been some comprehensive study of reducing this fragmentation, if that is what you are doing behind the scenes.
Ms. Bailão: The programs that CMHC used to deliver on affordable housing, like the Affordable Housing Fund and the Rapid Housing Initiative, have come to an end. We worked closely with CMHC to have a proper transition, with the goal of ensuring that people understand there is a transition and that Build Canada Homes will now be the delivery agency of affordable housing from the federal government.
We continue to work and collaborate with CMHC because there are a few programs that are boundaries between where we work. We do everything right now, from transitional housing all the way to where the Apartment Construction Loan Program starts to operate, which is the program that CMHC will continue to have. We’re working closely with CMHC because, sometimes, both organizations collaborate on certain projects.
There is going to be one window. In terms of non-market affordable housing — all of that support that is coming through the federal government will come through Build Canada Homes, not through CMHC. CMHC will focus on the market, data, research, lots of work and lots of collaboration. We have one side of the housing continuum, and they have the other side.
Senator Fridhandler: Can we get a complete list of these other fragmented agencies in the government? It is not just CMHC; there are more, I would believe — maybe this is all from the inside. I would like to understand — a written list.
The Chair: Looking for a list, okay.
Now, we will switch to the official critic of the bill.
Senator Martin: I only have three minutes, so I have to choose one of many questions.
It’s too early to ask you this. You have all these wonderful announcements, but what has been approved in terms of shovels scheduled to go into the ground this construction season? I think that question will follow.
I’m concerned about some of the history of past bureaucracies and their ability to build in a timely manner, like Rockliffe Shanning Park and Jericho Lands in Vancouver. I just want to understand. How will this be any different?
Bureaucracy doesn’t solve the actual issues around getting the land ready for development and all the jurisdictions that have to be navigated. Some of these projects are multi-decades long. How will this Build Canada Homes be so much more efficient when history tells us we will have delays?
Ms. Bailão: I believe the cooperation with the provinces and the municipalities is a great start. We all have jurisdiction over land development, financing and support of affordable housing. As I mentioned, in most of the provinces, we have things like implementation tables where we talk about not only the money that we’re bringing to that province and that city in terms of grants and financing but also how we collaborate on lands. I think that will speed the process as well. We bring the financing, the grants and the land all together into one organization. Therefore, when we take this to market, we already tell the proponents what they can expect in terms of some of the support that the federal government will be able to provide.
Senator Martin: It all sounds very ambitious, so I’m going to wait for the details and see what happens.
Maybe I’ll ask a question about the financial piece. You have significant borrowing powers that will allow you to operate more like a commercial developer, including issues debt and drawing on the Consolidated Revenue Fund, et cetera. There are a lot of powers there.
For Canadians following this at home, can you explain, in simple terms, how much debt Build Canada Homes could reasonably take on over the next five years? What happens if a major project fails and that debt cannot be repaid? Ultimately, who bears the loss? Is it the private partners, Build Canada Homes itself or, obviously, the taxpayers?
Ms. Bailão: Right now, there is a $400-million limit of borrowing capacity in the legislation.
The way that we structure partnerships will influence where that debt lies. It depends whether it’s a joint venture or if it’s a full-out lease where we control and own the land, but we lease it, and it is the developer who develops and holds the debt and the risks. It all depends on the way you take the sites to market.
Obviously, we want to be able to leverage and attract as much capital with as little risk as possible, and that will be taken into consideration as we put that land up for development.
Senator Martin: You mentioned about — this is regarding the — okay, where is my question? Can I do round two?
The Chair: You will be the first on round two.
Senator Martin: Thank you.
Senator Wallin: I’m going to try a simple approach to this because I think everybody thought that Build Canada Homes was going to go out and build homes and do it quickly because people needed them. Can you explain the process of building a home?
Are you going to pitch somebody and say, “We have some land available that the federal government owns. Are you interested in putting a building or a home on it if we give you half of it?”
What’s the process, considering all the issues, like that of jurisdiction, that people have already raised? We have heard endless testimony about the municipal rules across this country that make it impossible for the private sector to do what you are promising to do.
Ms. Bailão: It is important to note that we have, basically, three lines of business.
We have our line of business, where we attract proponents that want to partner with us through our pipeline, people that have either municipalities or non-profit organizations and developers on their own land. They want to partner with us on some of their projects. Some want grants, and some want to do a joint venture with us.
There is a financial partnership. Some of those are already under construction. To be honest with you, from the 11,000 units we already committed to, there are properties that have shovels in the ground already because these were organizations that we’ve been able to partner with. They had the process ready.
Senator Wallin: You’re not providing just money because you’ve got $13 billion, but that’s not —
Ms. Bailão: In some cases, we can come at it just with a financial contribution, absolutely. With the Affordable Housing Fund, there was a financial contribution. The structure is different, but there is a partnership that Build Canada Homes can make that does not involve our own land.
Senator Wallin: How would you approach a developer and say, “We would like you to pay for these 10 homes that we see being built on street X in town Y”?
Ms. Bailão: Usually the developer or the non-profit organization comes to us, and we look at their pro forma, what level of affordability they are providing, what kind of partnership they want, if they have modern methods of construction and if they’re building at scale. We see how we can make sure that happens and how we can extract as much affordability, and then, we can come at it in different ways. We can do a joint venture or equity participation or grant participation. We just want to make sure we are unlocking that potential and that affordable housing.
Then, we have our lands, which we take to market. Right now, we have six direct sites. We have done all the planning processes that are required, and now, we are asking the market to come to us to build these sites for us, and then we will have non-profits that will operate those sites.
It’s two different methods. One is —
Senator Wallin: Sorry. Second round, please.
[Translation]
Senator Henkel: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the committee. My question is for Ms. Bailão.
Bill C-20 gives Build Canada Homes two missions that are regularly talked about: it’s being asked to innovate and to deliver affordable housing as soon as possible. One mission is driven by innovation, which takes time and includes the potential of failure; the other is speed and reliability.
Can you explain how you combine innovation with your risk management framework? In short, is there a threshold? Do you have a risk budget? Does your investor framework include a protected tolerance zone?
[English]
Ms. Bailão: We created an investment policy that guides our investments. We are in the final stages of creating a land strategy policy as well. We have a credit policy. We have a risk policy that guides and measures our risks and our investments as well, both on the grant and financing partnerships as we invest in our lands, because we look at lands as a tool of delivering that innovation. It’s an investment, so it’s under our investment policy, risk policy and credit policy.
[Translation]
Senator Henkel: My second question is for Ms. Boldt and Mr. Langelier.
Bill C-20 allows lots of things, but requires little: no public target, no definition of affordability, no stated policy horizon. You’ve set the big legislative framework, but does this bill have elements to come later, or will it stay within the Build Canada Homes mandate? What I mean is, will it be mirrored in the ministerial directives, in investment policies or in future regulations?
Mr. Langelier: Thank you for the question. I can start with the definition of affordability. It was decided not to include a strict definition in the bill. The idea is to give the organization, the Crown corporation, some flexibility on how it implements its mandate.
As you said, the minister and the government have a number of tools at their disposal to guide the Crown corporation’s broad strategic directions.
The model used is similar to that of other Crown corporations we’re familiar with, such as the Canada Infrastructure Bank or CMHC. The idea is to have a legislative mandate that is quite flexible. There’s a mission, and the Crown corporation is required to always link all its activities to its mandate in order to carry out that mission.
That said, there are a number of tools available, and they can be reflected in the various directives and in some ministerial mandate letters.
Senator Henkel: Where will this bill live?
The Chair: I’m sorry, Senator Henkel, but I have to give the floor to another senator.
[English]
Senator Ringuette: My first question is in regards to making sure that every community from coast to coast to coast will be served by your mandate. Some communities have no Canada Lands Company property, some communities have no private sector investors, the wealth is not there. Some communities have no non-profit groups in place, but they are in dire need. How are you going to meet that non-market housing situation? Concretely, how is that going to be met without that series of potential partners? Believe me, there are a lot of communities that have none of these.
Ms. Bailão: We’re starting to see that. One of the partners that is coming to the table is the municipality. Rural municipalities are coming together. We’re working on several partnerships where municipalities, small municipalities that don’t have the capacity even to do planning and development, are coming together, and we’re working with them to create and facilitate packages. Some of them include models that are the same design and the same producer of housing, and we’re working with them so we can reduce the costs and build in a series of municipalities. We’re bringing the manufacturing, we’re bringing the municipalities, we’re bringing some of the financing and some of these partnerships. This is the power of partnerships that Build Canada Homes has, and we’re seeing quite a number of these partnerships coming through, and we’re hoping that as we start announcing some of these partnerships, we’re going to get more and more and more interest.
We’re also reaching out to a lot of these communities, to be honest with you, to have this conversation.
Senator Ringuette: The $13 billion I believe you already have in your coffers, hopefully you have invested in it, so the $13 billion keeps increasing. In the years when you start to collect some revenue on your investment, will you be reinvesting this revenue into further increasing non-market housing?
Ms. Bailão: Absolutely. The goal is realizing that we want to attract more private capital, and we’re going to recycle as much as possible so we can build more using that source.
Matthieu Boulianne, Clerk of the Committee: If I may just add, that is an important factor with this legislation. It does provide that authority, which will be, as Ms. Bailão pointed to, very fundamental.
Senator Loffreda: Welcome to our committee. To what extent will succeed be measured by housing starts, completed units, affordability outcomes or productivity gains in the construction sector? Accountability is always important, given the investment we’re making and leverage and efficiency are important. How much private or institutional capital does Build Canada Homes expect to mobilize for every federal dollar invested?
Ms. Bailão: We are part of the bigger housing delivery plan that the federal government has. We are now, as we speak, working on our corporate plan. As soon as the legislation is approved, it will be developed. Therein, we will have exactly the information that you talked about on all those areas, and we will be reporting on all of that annually as well. The number of starts that we have, by economic, by affordability bracket, by Indigenous buy-in, Indigenous for Indigenous, and how many are using modern methods of construction? How we are feeding into the larger housing ecosystem and what our contribution has been.
Senator Loffreda: So you will eventually get back to us with targets —
Ms. Bailão: Absolutely.
Senator Loffreda: — and periodic measures and reports?
Ms. Bailão: Yes.
Senator Loffreda: That is extremely important. With labour shortages already affecting the sector, how do we increase housing supply without simply driving construction costs even higher?
Ms. Bailão: One of the key missions of Build Canada Homes is the modern methods of construction. That is to bring more productivity to deal with issues like labour shortages and reduce the costs of housing overall. We want to have an impact by spending money in an area of the housing continuum where we know the government needs to be involved — affordable housing that we create this pipeline for modern methods of construction that has a different way of working, which eventually has the goal of reducing the costs of building housing. That is one of the ways that we are contributing to deal with that issue.
Senator Galvez: We know that there is no strict definition of affordability in the bill. Unfortunately, this raises confusion among people about home ownership access to affordable housing. And we’re trying to believe you when you say you’re going to work differently and it’s going to be simpler and faster. My question is about reporting on how many units by affordability that you’re going to produce by next year, including market, below market, deeply affordable, rent geared to income, supportive and social housing because we will have to assess you on the results because there is no definition. Do you see yourself reporting these in a transparent way by next year?
Ms. Boldt: On those various investments, Build Canada Homes will be tracking affordable units and the number of affordable units, and you have laid out the different depths of affordability. Those will be important measures. Build Canada Homes does have a number of reporting obligations as a Crown corporation under the Financial Administration Act; there is a responsibility to report. There is a corporate plan that goes annually and a summary of that corporate plan that does include the activities, the strategic objectives, the expected expenditures and whatnot of Build Canada Homes. That is provided as a summary to parliamentarians.
In addition, they do have operating budgets that need to be presented to the minister on an annual basis and those operating in capital budgets; also a summary of those go to Parliament. And then there are quarterly reports that read out the various results.
Senator Galvez: Next year at this time, how many units will you have built?
Ms. Boldt: It will depend on the speed by which this Build Canada Homes is —
Senator Galvez: More or less?
Ms. Boldt: — launched as a Crown corporation. Right now, they are beholden and under Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada. So there are also reporting obligations that the department has. As part of our departmental reporting, there will be results that do speak to Build Canada Homes, but as a Crown corporation with this legislation that would come as a stand-alone piece.
Senator Galvez: Can you report in writing about the targets for next year, please? Thank you.
Senator McBean: Thank you, everyone, for being here.
I live in Toronto, and it is not unusual for a building to go up with a sign that says, “Good luck living in this neighbourhood; there are no schools, no communities.”
I hear repeated commentary about the need for speed. There are two parts to this.
How will Build Canada Homes balance the need for speed with the importance of quality and sustainability, but also match the community consultation and ensure it remains a livable community?
Ms. Bailão: We will be working with the municipalities on all the zoning plans that every municipality has.
Senator McBean: Yes.
Ms. Bailão: Those are to build mixed communities, but we are committed to building good, mixed-income and mixed-use communities.
We’re not here to have one versus the other. We won’t short circuit anything. We will be responding to official plans and will work with communities and municipalities to ensure that we’re building good communities.
Senator McBean: I know you know this. You have lived it for a long time.
However, if in Toronto one said, “We will put a school here,” I know Toronto doesn’t have money to build a new school. What sort of support for land and building the school comes with these homes?
In my area, it has been where everything was zoned for 6, then 12 and 13, and now we have 42-storey buildings going up, but there is then no space or land to build the schools on.
What support to the municipalities will come with land, zoning and building the infrastructure that goes with these homes?
Ms. Bailão: When we have a large site that needs and can accommodate other uses, and should be implemented with other uses than just housing, we deliver on that. This has been done by Canada Lands and is a practice we will absolutely continue. It is about mixed communities.
There are other sources of funding that either the ministry or the minister can probably expand on how they support municipalities. There are the Build Communities Strong Fund and other sources of funding made available as part of the equation.
We are not mandated to fund individual schools.
Senator McBean: Yes.
Ms. Bailão: When we have the land, we do. If it is a big piece of land and part of a master plan, we provide that as part of master planning a community, but we will not go to the municipality and fund the school or a park. That is not part of our mandate. The government has the tools to deal with that.
Senator McBean: Finally, what will protect a community from Build Canada Homes — trying to answer Senator Galvez’s question about how many homes you are building — working with the municipality to rezone something that goes much higher above the current urban planning and zoning heights?
Ms. Bailão: Again, this is about partnership and building good, healthy communities. We will work with communities and municipalities to ensure that we are building homes, buildings and communities where people can thrive, not something that will be prejudicial to the community.
Senator Ince: Thank you all for being here.
Accessibility groups note that BCH procurement currently treats accessibility as optional. Will BCH require accessibility standards as a condition of funding?
Ms. Bailão: We don’t require as optional in our direct-build sites. All the procurement we do to build in our own lands has a prerequisite for accessibility and adaptable housing, both. We have a target for both, which have to be delivered.
On the financing, we do respect the legislation. Because we are building programs across the country, some regions are 10%, others are less. We do require that.
Senator Ince: How will BCH ensure that non-profit and co-operative developers, who often lack capital, can participate?
Ms. Bailão: Our mandate is to increase the supply of affordable housing primarily in the non-market. We will be measuring how much we are increasing the non-market participation and ownership of affordable housing. It is part of our deliverables.
I can tell you, for example, that from the 11,000 units I said that are here today, they are all non-profit. It is a big commitment we have. We are acting in that part of the housing continuum. It is a priority.
When we approach this with, for example, a portfolio approach, we are also working with them and with organizations like the co-op that can aggregate quite a bit and be supportive even for their own members. I mentioned co-op. I could mention many other non-profit aggregators. We are actually trying to create methods that give them some sustainability and predictability; so it is not just about doing one project, but how can we start to talk about the big portfolio, the 2,000, 3,000 units? That is the kind of conversation we are having with some of these partners.
[Translation]
Senator Youance: Thank you, witnesses, for joining us. Can you explain how the transition and transfer of responsibilities are going to take place in relation to the assets, obligations and expertise of the Canada Lands Company, the CMHC or any other entity previously involved in Build Canada Homes’ jurisdiction? How will you ensure business continuity and clarity of roles, but also that the transferred lands can be built upon, while taking into account environmental aspects? How was this transfer made? It was one of the elements that allowed Build Canada Homes to move quickly.
Mr. Langelier: The bill gives the Crown corporation an operational subsidy, but Build Canada Homes will also have authorities when it comes to transferring the real estate development role, which is currently held by the Canada Lands Company. The bill itself isn’t prescriptive on how to proceed, but Build Canada Homes will have the power to choose which assets can be transferred, for example. Also, assets and obligations related to the current activities of the Canada Lands Company will probably need to be analyzed. Once this information is available, Build Canada Homes will be able to transfer assets based on the ultimate objective, which is to handle real estate development itself.
[English]
Ms. Bailão: We will be transferring the assets and expertise both to come and deliver on those assets, now with the opportunity to have more flexible financial tools to support that development as well.
[Translation]
Senator Youance: Can you give an example of a project that was transferred and how the process was done?
[English]
Ms. Bailão: We are not transferring project by project. Six properties were identified when Build Canada Homes was launched that would have a different model of going to the market. Canada Lands Company has been developing that on behalf of Build Canada Homes. The teams are working together to develop a different way of going to market with the intent of keeping the asset. This is different from anything else that had been done in the past with Canada Lands Company. That is different.
We are using the expertise, working closely together and being part of the master plan that already existed for those six communities. All of them were part of a bigger master plan community.
Senator Pupatello: Thank you for being here today.
Can you address some questions around the transparency and accountability of the new organization being set up as its own separate Crown corporation? How do we get in there? What window do we have to see where all of these billions are going, where the money is ultimately spent, that it is spent, what year it is spent, et cetera? Can you speak to that piece?
Second, can you describe how you are going to work on transition housing and women’s shelters, where we are hearing more and more — every small town and city is having a homeless issue — women’s shelters that are full? Do you do that outreach, or do they need to call you and then, somehow, you find their partner?
Ms. Boldt: To cover the first part of your question, which relates to the reporting, accountability and auditability of Build Canada Homes as a Crown corporation.
You have the bill in front of you, Bill C-20. In addition to that, Build Canada Homes, as a Crown corporation, will also need to adhere to Part 10 of the Financial Administration Act, or FAA. For Crown corporations, it has many requirements that relate to reporting, going back to corporate plans, the summaries of which need to be tabled to Parliament, and annual operating and capital budgets — summaries also go to parliamentarians. The public reporting — there are often quarterly financial updates that would be provided.
Build Canada Homes, as a Crown corporation, will be beholden to access to information, which is also an opportunity to ensure that information and transparency are there.
Within Bill C-20, there are provisions that relate to the review of the bill itself. The minister does need to review the legislation 5 years from the point that it comes into force and then every 10 years thereafter. A report of that review also goes to both the House of Commons and the Senate to ensure that the act is operating as intended.
That is a quick snapshot of the reporting pieces.
Ms. Bailão: I will address transitional housing.
When Build Canada Homes was launched, one of the commitments of the Prime Minister was $1 billion dedicated for transitional housing. We acted quickly on it, recognizing the homelessness situation across the country.
I’m happy to report that we have already committed to over 2,400 transitional homes. That has been done mainly through partnerships with the provinces and territories. A lot of them had projects ready to go. We also focused, during our first approach, with getting shovels into the ground within 12 months; that was one of the criteria. All of these commitments we made had to be shovels in the ground within 12 months. These 2,400 transitional homes that we committed to with the provinces will have shovels in the ground — and through municipalities, as well.
We are talking to them, and through our pipeline, many of them and many non-profits are reaching out to us. We have a two-way. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is coming up. We will be there; we will have the team. We’re talking to municipal and provincial leaders.
Also, the key for transitional housing is to ensure they have operating dollars. That is why we have been reaching out to the provinces very intentionally, because this is a conversation we want to start right away.
The Chair: We have four minutes left to complete the first round, and I have a question in addition. I propose to go to Senator Martin for two minutes, as she is the critic, and I will conclude the panel with my own question.
Senator Martin: I have narrowed it down because of what Senator McBean asked about what happens at the municipal level.
I have read about the backlash against forced zoning and bypassing local reviews. Mayors in my province of B.C. have spoken out; they are concerned. You can force a high-density, multi-family, modular building onto a plot of land, but the city is still legally obligated to service it. There are so many considerations.
I am concerned about what this is forcing upon municipalities.
You talked about good relations, but I have names of mayors who are quite concerned. Would you speak to the conversations that you are having with municipalities?
Ms. Bailão: [Technical difficulties] even contemplated by Build Canada Homes and going over the zoning authorized by the municipalities.
Senator Martin: There are broad powers that you have on federal land, but the infrastructure and responsibilities are on the —
Ms. Bailão: It is not our intention to go against municipalities; it is our intention to work and build healthy communities. That is the way that the Canada Lands Company has developed over the years, and we intend to continue the way we develop lands in collaboration with municipalities while building healthy communities and understanding that many communities need density. That is why so many of them are actually increasing the density themselves, but we are working within the zoning we have, and doing so in partnership and collaboration with municipalities.
Senator Martin: I am happy to hear that you are going to be working collaboratively — that these mayors whose names I have come across and who have expressed concern — that they can have those conversations with you. Thank you.
The Chair: I am from Quebec, and I am a former minister in Quebec. Quebec has a long history when we talk about housing with Ottawa. You can talk with CMHC — you cannot go directly to the municipalities; you have to go via the Government of Quebec and all of that stuff.
Is there anything that you have in mind? How would you deploy your strategy in Quebec?
Ms. Bailão: Yes. Quebec is one of the provinces with which we have signed an MOU. We have an implementation table that has been very successful. The minister has already approved several projects. We have a great relationship in coming to the table to work with Société d’habitation du Québec, or SHQ, identifying projects where we are both collaborating — start talking about some of the lands that BCH will start working through the Canada Lands Company.
I am happy to report that we have built a good relationship that has already put shovels in the ground in Quebec.
[Translation]
The Chair: On behalf of my colleagues and myself, I want to thank you.
[English]
Thank you for your testimony.
[Translation]
Thank you, honourable senators.
We will now hear from our second panel. We are continuing our study on the subject matter of Bill C-20, An Act respecting the establishment of Build Canada Homes. We are pleased to welcome Stéphan Déry, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canada Lands Company, and Coleen Volk, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Welcome. I understand you have some opening remarks. We will then move to questions from committee members.
The floor is yours.
Stéphan Déry, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canada Lands Company: Thank you very much.
[English]
Chair and honourable senators, thank you for the invitation to appear before the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy.
[Translation]
Thank you for inviting me to appear. It’s an honour to be here.
[English]
My name is Stéphan Déry. As mentioned, I am President and Chief Executive Officer of Canada Lands Company Limited, or CLCL.
In the next few minutes, I will do three things: briefly explain what the Canada Lands Company is and why it was created; outline our mandate and accountability; and also highlight our track record and why Build Canada Homes is inheriting a strong, proven platform in the Canada Lands Company.
Canada Lands was created in 1995 to reintegrate surplus federal lands into Canadian communities and to generate optimal public value, both financial — and that’s quite important — and non-financial.
In practical terms, we transform surplus federal properties into productive new uses — often complete, master-planned communities that deliver housing, including affordable housing, alongside parks, infrastructure, environmental remediation and partnerships with Indigenous communities that create economic opportunities for them.
Our model is quite simple, but it is also important. We operate with commercial discipline but always with a clear public outcome.
Today, we operate two complementary lines of business — as Senator Varone’s message mentioned — real estate and attractions.
We manage 24 projects nationally, covering approximately 450 hectares of land, which is about 1,100 acres, and we own and operate major Canadian destinations, including the CN Tower in Toronto, Downsview Park, the Old Port of Montréal and the Montréal Science Centre.
For more than 30 years, we have consistently reintegrated federal lands into productive use for Canadians.
Canada Lands is a Schedule III Crown corporation under the Financial Administration Act, operating through three subsidiaries: Canada Lands Company Limited, which manages the real estate portfolio and the CN Tower, and it is a non-agent of the Crown; Parc Downsview Park Inc. oversees Downsview Park in Toronto and the land in Toronto; and the Old Port of Montréal Corporation Inc., operating the Old Port and the Montréal Science Centre.
We are self-financing, governed by an independent board of directors and operate at arm’s length from government, with strong financial and governance oversight. We report to Parliament through the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, and we are subject to regular oversight, including corporate planning and special examinations.
This model provides independence, accountability and financial discipline, allowing us to deliver consistently for Canadians.
Canada Lands has been enabling housing outcomes for decades. Since 2016, we have enabled over 17,300 housing units across the country, including more than 4,900 affordable units. Since inception, we have returned over $1.3 billion to the Government of Canada through dividends, taxes and promissory notes.
Looking ahead, our five-year approved corporate plan targets approximately 35,000 additional units, with a further pipeline of roughly 29,000 units, on our existing land portfolio.
At the same time, we maintain a strong financial performance.
Over the 2026-31 period, we project more than $2.6 billion in revenue, close to $700 million in net income and approximately $1 billion returned to the Government of Canada.
At the same time, we will also invest over $2.9 billion in local economies.
This combination of demonstrated delivery and financial capacity is what enables us to scale housing outcomes in a disciplined and sustainable way.
These results were delivered under a model where surplus federal property was acquired at market value. We have to negotiate with the Government of Canada in order to buy their property, and we paid market value for the property. We have long advocated for a shift to a lower cost so that we could deliver more homes for Canadians.
This brings me to Build Canada Homes. Build Canada Homes, or BCH, will leverage Canada Lands’ platform land portfolio, delivery systems and expertise through the transfer of Canada Lands Company Limited and Downsview Park.
Canada Lands’ proven development platform, active federal lands and strong execution capacity, complemented by BCH tools that Ms. Bailão just talked about, will help deliver more homes and advance affordability.
Initially, on Canada Lands sites, BCH will deliver 4,000 long-term rental units — 40% of which will be affordable — across six sites in Halifax, Longueuil, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton. This is supported by a capital investment of $1.5 billion.
With the additional authorities under Bill C-20, BCH can scale this platform and accelerate housing delivery for Canadians.
Finally, Canada Lands is supported by strong systems and controls. In 2024, a special examination by the office of the Auditor General found no significant deficiencies, providing confidence in our governance and oversight.
In closing, Canada Lands will enter a new chapter, continuing to manage and enhance a portfolio of iconic Canadian landmarks, while Build Canada Homes builds on our proven real estate development platform to accelerate housing delivery.
Our success over the past 30 years reflects the dedication and entrepreneurial spirit of our employees, past and present, who have built this organization.
Thank you. I would be pleased to answer your questions.
The Chair: Thank you.
Ms. Volk, for five minutes, if it is possible.
Coleen Volk, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Thank you for the opportunity to speak about Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, or CMHC, and Build Canada Homes and our complementary roles in Canada’s housing system.
[Translation]
Since 1981, CMHC has opened doors for Canadians.
Through innovative financing solutions and unbiased thought leadership, we’ve become the foundation of Canada’s stable, resilient housing system.
Our financing tools help ensure stability and allow us to prudently take on risk so builders can build and lenders can lend, in all economic cycles.
At the same time, our timely research and insights help decision-makers craft better policies and solutions. As a federal Crown Corporation, CMHC puts the public interest first. When the federal government calls on us, we step up. Whether as a shock absorber during the global financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic or, to deliver major affordable housing programs under the National Housing Strategy.
[English]
Now, with Build Canada Homes, we have a new federal partner, with a mandate to build affordable housing at scale. Our roles are complementary. With BCH taking the lead on affordable housing, CMHC is primarily focused on market housing — the segment where 95% of Canadians live. BCH brings flexible financial tools, public lands to leverage and a goal of catalyzing modern methods of construction. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation brings decades of experience, proven tools, predictable funding, and a network of 10,000 partners across the housing system.
We’ve learned a great deal from delivering the National Housing Strategy, and we’re passing on these lessons learned to BCH. We’re also providing BCH with operating expertise to help it achieve its immediate objectives while it designs its long-term operating model. This includes support in underwriting, contracting, advancing, loan administration and servicing, default management and reporting.
Looking ahead, we see plenty of opportunities for collaboration. The most inclusive, sustainable communities are mixed-market communities, and together we can leverage our respective strengths to support their development.
At the same time, CMHC is doing what it does best: supporting stability in Canada’s housing market so that housing can happen — even in these uncertain times.
What does that mean in practical terms? It means helping Canadians access mortgages at favourable rates no matter where they live in the country.
It means backing much of the rental housing construction happening in Canada. It means expanding our mortgage loan insurance products for both homeowners and multi-unit builders that encourage modern methods of construction. It also means continuing to bring much-needed capital into Canada’s housing system through Canada Mortgage Bonds, one of the largest tools to attract international investment in Canada.
Just as importantly, it means providing our research and insights that drive action. Our work on housing supply gaps, regulatory barriers, development charges, and productivity has directly influenced housing policies at all levels of government and across the industry.
Mr. Chair, for eight decades, CMHC has been here for Canada. We’ve adapted to meet the country’s changing needs, and we’ll continue to do so working alongside BCH, our other federal partners, and our many clients across the housing system.
Thank you.
The Chair: Colleagues, we have about 40 minutes. What I propose is to go with three minutes each. Thank you for your understanding and your discipline.
Senator Martin: Both of you in your presentations demonstrate that CLC and CMHC have long records of achievement and excellence, so I’m still trying to understand why we need a third bureaucracy instead of equipping you with more to build on your expertise. Maybe that’s one of the things you can answer to me in your response. Specifically to CLC, what financial and operational modelling have you seen either within CLC or from the federal housing department that gives you confidence that transferring up to approximately $1.5 billion in assets and capital out of your portfolio into Build Canada Homes will not materially weaken your ability as a self-financing Crown corporation to sustain and properly maintain your major public attractions over the long term while still delivering on your real estate and community-building mandate? I’m trying to understand how that will impact how you operate these very important iconic sites.
Mr. Déry: Thank you very much. First, I will say Ana Bailão, the CEO of Build Canada Homes, was talking about the Canada Direct Build project. We received $1.5 billion from the Government of Canada through Budget 2025 in order to build on those six sites that I mentioned, up to 4,000 homes, of which 40% will be affordable. So that’s really a capitalization from the federal government so that $1.5 billion was not coming from our own financials, but was added to it by the federal government in the $13 billion of Build Canada Homes. We will transfer those assets with CLC to Build Canada Homes so they can manage them. So it has really no impact on the attraction.
What we were asked to do is to look at whether the attraction can survive. Each attraction is a business, and about half of it is real estate, and the other half is attraction, and the attraction, on its own, can easily generate enough revenue to be profitable and also take care of their capital investment needs.
Senator Martin: To CMHC, with your eight decades of experience and 10,000 partners, I know you say you’re complementary, but I’m trying to understand why we need another bureaucracy.
Ms. Volk: I would refer to the Prime Minister’s remarks on this, in which he said he believes organizations are most effective when they have a focused mandate. So Build Canada Homes has a focused mandate on very affordable housing, and we have a very broad mandate on housing supplied, generally, and on affordability, primarily on market housing.
The Chair: I think you are not the only one thinking like that. Okay.
Senator Fridhandler: I’m going to follow up on Senator Martin’s line of questioning because we heard from BCH that they are concerned about the fragmentation in the marketplace. So let’s go back and tell me how you are going to contribute to the defragmentation or rollup of the issues on affordable housing, both of you because you both play in that space, but how are you getting out of it?
Ms. Volk: We are in very close touch with Build Canada Homes. It’s very important to us and to them that we not create fragmentation. So we are creating a focus. They are creating a focus on deeply affordable housing. We are continuing with our focus on market housing. Where our roles can be complementary, as they often are, we are working very closely together. We are deliberately trying to make sure that there aren’t impediments and that we’re not creating impediments or fragmentation.
For example, Build Canada Homes might have a project that they have in mind that they can help make it more affordable; they can add some contributions, something to the program to make the project itself more affordable. We may still be able to provide the financing. So we can finance it as in our commercial activities, and they’re adding something that will make it a more affordable project so we can bring our tools together on a complementary basis.
Mr. Déry: I would add to what my colleague, Ms. Volk, to say that we’re bringing land to that equation. Trying to align two or three agencies together to have the same mission and vision is extremely difficult. Now we have the opportunity of having the land. Canada Land Company already has relationships with municipalities. So we’re bringing all of that together, and then we’re adding financial tools on top of that, which CLC, on its own, didn’t have financial tools, didn’t have loaning opportunities, didn’t have grants and we were self-financing. So we had to look to make a profit, to be honest, or at least break even from the property we were developing. We also had to return a dividend to the federal government.
All of this made us effective, but I believe that with Build Canada Homes it’s going to be even more effective building on federal lands because they will bring the financial tools, the loans and the grants together.
Senator Ringuette: I’ve been on the Hill for 30 years, and I remember government after government consistently reducing their financial participation, particularly in the non-market housing that CMHC was responsible for delivering. The first panel indicated to us that you would be transferring some of these non-profit and non-market portfolios to them.
Could you indicate the value of these portfolios that you will be transferring to them for non-market housing?
Ms. Volk: From CMHC’s perspective, just to clarify, we have been responsible for delivering what the government has given us. Yes, as successive governments chose to invest less in social housing, we had less to invest. Just to clarify where we play.
In terms of a portfolio, we aren’t actually transferring properties to Build Canada Homes. It may be different for Mr. Déry, but we aren’t actually transferring properties. We are transferring responsibility for programs. We used to deliver prescriptive programs that the government identified. For example, the government created the Affordable Housing Fund and the Rapid Housing Initiative and so on. Each one was a definitive program with rules on how it could be used. We aren’t delivering that kind of program anymore.
Those programs have largely sunsetted or are in the process of sunsetting. We will transfer responsibility for them to Build Canada Homes, and they will deliver them differently. Their intention and the government’s intention for them are not to deliver programs one by one with specific rules around each program. Build Canada Homes will have much more flexibility with a pool of funds to support those investments. However, they will be taking that over for new projects. We aren’t actually transferring them any sorts of assets.
Mr. Déry: In our case, we are transferring assets and expertise for real estate, potentially 450 hectares of land across the country and existing projects.
From an affordability perspective, Canada Lands Company Limited is obligated, as a non-agent, to follow the municipal requirements. Everywhere there is an obligation to do a percentage of affordable housing, we will meet or exceed that percentage. Since 2023 — at which point no percentage has been required — we’ve committed to making a minimum of 20% of all our units affordable. That’s without financial support from BCH. That’s through self-financing, so now it could potentially increase. The example that we have is the direct build that we mentioned in the six cities that we’re doing. For example, of the 4,000 units, 40% of them will be affordable.
[Translation]
Senator Dalphond: Welcome to our witnesses. My questions are for Mr. Déry.
You said you built lower-price housing and more affordable rental units. How many have you built?
Mr. Déry: Thank you for your question. Since 2016, we’ve made it easier to build. We weren’t doing the construction ourselves, but we were working with the private sector to lower our land prices so businesses could build affordable housing. Since 2016, 17,300 units have been built, of which 6,900 were affordable, so almost 20%. As I said a little earlier, since 2023, we’ve committed to ensuring at least 20% of housing units are affordable.
Senator Dalphond: You’ve negotiated with the cities and you know how it works?
Mr. Déry: Absolutely. My team is fantastic. We have relationships with the cities. However, when you acquire land from the federal government, 90% of the time it needs to be decontaminated. There are a lot of things that prevent us from quickly building a house on the lot, but we definitely work with the cities.
Senator Dalphond: Based on your experience, what couldn’t you do that the new Crown corporation, Build Canada Homes, will be able to do?
Mr. Déry: Once again — I will repeat what the Prime Minister said — it’s really a matter of focusing on organizations, so —
Senator Dalphond: And you couldn’t do that?
Mr. Déry: We also manage attractions or iconic sites across Canada, so we focus on that. The attractions represent about half of our revenue, and the other half is the real estate sector with its ups and downs. This means that by concentrating the Canada Lands Company’s activities — under a new name — on attractions or —
Senator Dalphond: Sites that are more commercial in nature?
Mr. Déry: Exactly, and if we focus Build Canada Homes activities on real estate development, which also includes the —
Senator Dalphond: So your organization is going to shrink?
Mr. Déry: We’re being asked to transfer functions, staff and experience to Build Canada Homes and focus on key Canadian attractions.
The Chair: Thank you for that clarification, Senator Dalphond. That’s very helpful as well.
[English]
Senator Wallin: Just to clarify here, does anybody in either of your organizations lose their job?
Ms. Volk: We will absolutely have staff impacts from the discontinuation of programs. We used to run the Affordable Housing Fund and the Rapid Housing Initiative, so we will have people who will ultimately not be engaged in those programs. There are some immediate impacts, but it’s more over the long term because when we lend, we have a loan for a long time, so there is still some work associated with that. We’re just not doing new lending or issuing new contributions for those programs. There will be some impacts as those programs wind down. Some of our staff may have opportunities at Build Canada Homes, some have been seconded to Build Canada Homes to help them get started, and some may have opportunities in the longer term to apply for jobs there.
Senator Wallin: Are you being phased out?
Ms. Volk: As an organization, no. We still have a large program to deliver, which is the Apartment Construction Loan Program, but these niche programs and the Affordable Housing Program, anything in that deeply affordable space, we wouldn’t be doing that.
Senator Wallin: Mr. Déry, some parts are being transferred over. For the existing parts, does anybody lose their job? Do you shrink the remaining part of the activity?
Mr. Déry: As of today, everybody is going to have either employment in Canada Lands Company or in Build Canada Homes.
Senator Wallin: As I understand it — correct me if I’m wrong — there are three CEOs, three boards of directors and three budgets. Who trumps whom in the quest to build more, quick and/or affordable housing?
Mr. Déry: We’re working extremely closely with Build Canada Homes. We are in the same office in Toronto. Canada Lands Company Limited will not be building housing anymore. Canada Lands Company Limited will be in the commercial business attractions — I wouldn’t say landmarks — like the Old Port of Montréal, which was the most visited place in Quebec and the CN Tower, which receives 2 million visitors a year.
Senator Wallin: So everything else will be transferred?
Mr. Déry: Everything else will be transferred under one roof.
Senator Wallin: Will your offices shrink? I’m just trying to figure it out.
Mr. Déry: Absolutely. In my discussion with Ms. Bailão, Build Canada Homes will take over our headquarters in Toronto, and we will be moving across the street into much smaller offices.
Senator Wallin: Are you being phased out?
Mr. Déry: I don’t see this as being phased out, personally. I see this as potentially expanding because there are other places of interest in Canada that could be managed by the new Canada Lands Company.
Senator Wallin: Ms. Volk, with this coordination, if you’re doing the same thing, but you will transfer expertise and people, then I just don’t understand it. My question is, there are still three of you, so does Build Canada Homes trump? Are they the boss?
Ms. Volk: They will be on first for deeply affordable housing, absolutely. If there are questions about shelters or deeply affordable housing — what we used to call social housing — Build Canada Homes is certainly on first for that. We play more in the market space, predominantly in the housing system, but the housing system is large and complex, and we’re each finding our home —
Senator Wallin: But they say they’re doing that, too. Anyway. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Senator Loffreda: Thank you both to Mr. Déry and Ms. Volk for being here. Increasing supply will increase affordability. If the objective is speed — because if we do it quicker, supply increases and meets demand — what has historically caused the greatest delays? Is it financing? Is it land availability? Is it municipal approvals or labour shortages or federal coordination? According to you, where were the gaps, and how are we fixing those gaps?
Ms. Volk: The largest delays are from municipal regulations — zoning and permitting. Those would be the largest delays in these projects.
Senator Loffreda: How are we fixing those gaps at this point in time?
Ms. Volk: The federal government doesn’t have a lot of tools to fix those. It has created some tools to do that, one being the Housing Accelerator Fund, which rewards municipalities that can address their timelines and do things to make housing happen more quickly, to get permits happening faster and to more easily change zoning, that sort of thing. That’s a federal government tool.
There was also a recent announcement of an agreement between the federal government and the provincial government that would reduce development charges. That should make things more affordable. So the federal government is using the tools that it can, but a lot of these issues really are in the municipal domain.
Senator Loffreda: Okay. What governance mechanisms will ensure coordination among all the entities so that projects don’t become slower or more bureaucratic? You have a few entities. We have many layers of government. In business, we say levels of management are like layers of clothing; you never knew what the weather is.
Ms. Volk: The overall coordination is through our portfolio, minister and department. So Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, or HICC, is the overall portfolio department. They coordinate the work of Canada Lands Company, the work of CMHC and now of BCH. The minister is responsible, and HICC as a department is very active in coordinating.
But we don’t rely on them. We have our own coordinating mechanisms. We meet regularly, in some cases daily and at least weekly and, at more senior levels, biweekly or monthly on coordination with Build Canada Homes. Mr. Déry and I are in regular touch on our files as well.
There is a lot of work at our level, but the central coordination point is with the portfolio department.
Mr. Déry: There is also the Canadian Infrastructure Bank, which is located within the same department. So we can see the coordination that’s happening there. As an example, in Toronto, at Downsview Park, we will build 22,000 units there. There was a trunk sewer capacity issue. We couldn’t build because there is not enough piping in the ground. The federal government, through one of their investments, joined the city and provided $290 million for the infrastructure. That will unlock 22,000 homes and probably more than that. It will be closer to 40,000 with our neighbour developers.
These are done more easily when there is a lot of coordination between levels and also when reporting to the same minister. We were moved to Housing and Infrastructure Canada last September. We were previously with Public Services and Procurement Canada. Now, we’re all under the same roof. That created the synergy to increase investment and the speed of housing delivery.
Senator Loffreda: Thank you.
Senator McBean: Mr. Déry, in the last panel, we heard Ms. Bailão say it is not the intention of Build Canada Homes to go over current zoning restrictions — and I will even say to “significantly” go over current zoning restrictions. She wasn’t aware of any current programs where they’re even close.
Recently, at a Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry meeting, in a discussion of disappearing farmland, we heard that Canada Lands is weighing the future of Heppell’s potato farm, a unique 300-acre site in Surrey that has been farmed for over a century. This land is uniquely productive, and it plays a significant role in B.C.’s supply of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Given that the land is not currently protected as agriculture land due to a historic wartime use, it’s now being considered for parcelling out and potential disposition. It has an estimated developed value of up to $1 billion.
How is Canada Lands balancing its mandate for value creation and redevelopment with the need to preserve irreplaceable agricultural land? Can Canada Lands Company ensure that the land remains in agricultural protection regardless of any ownership or transfer decisions?
Mr. Déry: Thank you for your extremely interesting question. I was familiar with these lands when I was working in the federal government. It’s still owned by ISED, which is Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. It’s still in negotiations with First Nations. Public Services and Procurement Canada are responsible for a duty to consult with First Nations, and they are also responsible for the future of the land.
We are a third party to that if there is a need. We are participating in the discussion, but we’re not the authority deciding how the land will be disposed of over time and what kind of plan could happen. There are discussions with the First Nations, ISED and PSPC on how the land should be used and in consultation with the city. Thank you.
[Translation]
Senator Henkel: Welcome, Mr. Déry, Ms. Volk.
Mr. Déry, in September 2025, the Canada Lands Company presented three flagship projects for a total of 8,500 residential units in my province of Quebec, several of which are well under way.
When you eventually transfer your assets to Build Canada Homes, could the new entity decide, for example, to review the contracts and agreements you signed with the partners? If so, how do you intend to protect them?
Mr. Déry: Thank you very much for your question.
Discussions and cooperation between Build Canada Homes and the Canada Lands Company are focused on ensuring the transfer while respecting existing plans and contracts. There will definitely be a review to see if we can increase the number of affordable housing units. As I said earlier, we’re self-funded, so our projects must be profitable. There will be a discussion. I believe there will be more affordable housing units. However, the way in which all this is managed will have to be looked at. The agreement is that the contracts —
Senator Henkel: I apologize for cutting you off, Mr. Déry. Let me give you a tangible example. About 8,500 units are being developed. Several partners may be at risk if contracts and agreements are reviewed. If that’s the case, since some entrepreneurs won’t be informed of this asset transfer, what’s going to happen the next day? Have you discussed that? How do you intend to protect them, if only for what has already been started?
Mr. Déry: Absolutely. As per our agreement, they will be protected. The Canada Lands Company will be transferred to Build Canada Homes. Those contracts and the people who work on those contracts will be protected. That way, the 8,500 units and the contracts in place will be protected.
Senator Henkel: Ms. Volk, Bill C-20 gives Build Canada Homes very broad powers to provide financial assistance, invest, service land, build housing and sign agreements. However, CMHC remains central to the financing of insurance and several federal housing programs.
What would be CMHC’s role in funding affordable housing? Which segments will fall under CMHC and which ones will fall under Build Canada Homes? How will you avoid potential overlap, especially at the outset?
Ms. Volk: Thank you for the question. I’ll answer in English, if that’s okay.
[English]
The CMHC has a large role to play in financing. We can provide our financing to many projects that are initiated or supported by Build Canada Homes. We can finance them through the Apartment Construction Loan Program, for example, which is a tool that we can continue to offer and which can be stacked with some of the offerings of BCH. We can work together. We also have a suite of insurance tools. We do provide insurance for homeowners and for multi-unit rental properties. Our insurance can also assist in the creation of some of those projects that BCH would be interested in stacking.
So, yes, we can stack many things together.
Senator Ince: My question is for Ms. Volk.
Given evidence that retrofitting existing buildings can be faster and cheaper, how will CMHC integrate adaptive reuse into federal housing delivery?
Ms. Volk: That is a great question, senator. It is difficult for me to answer because CMHC provides assistance in programs that the government designs. At the moment, we have limited programs that would deliver renovation programs. We have supply programs; those are primarily what we are offering at the moment.
It would be a good question for HICC, which is the policy lead. If the government were interested in pursuing something, we would deliver a program in that respect. We have had renovation programs before, and some have been very successful. We just don’t have an active flagship program in that area right now.
Senator Galvez: You can understand why my colleagues are wondering if you are going to still be there after all of this rearrangement. Clauses 35 and 20 give the Governor-in-Council, under a minister’s recommendation, very strong powers to write interests, obligations and even to acquire, lease, sell or dispose of property.
Let us say that you are still there and still working on what you are doing. I am wondering about the criteria that the Canada Lands Company will use to identify which lands or assets should be transferred to BCH. Most importantly, there are concerns that public lands should not simply be monetized — you are reporting money — but used to secure permanent public benefits and long-term affordability.
Are you thinking about long-term leases, community land trusts, public ownership or non-profit ownership models to be considered in this arrangement?
Mr. Déry: I will give you an example.
My colleague, in the future, once the properties are transferred to Build Canada Homes — they will be in a better position to answer that, and, with the financial instruments they will have, I believe they will have greater capacity to accomplish some of those.
As an example, last fiscal year, we leased five properties through a program, working with CMHC, to the Federal Lands Initiative — we leased five properties at close to nominal value to organizations so they can build multiple homes on land in five cities across the country. Helping them through the Federal Lands Initiative — and helping a not-for-profit, most of them associated with for-profit corporations — to build affordable housing. At a minimum, in those projects that we launched, 30% was affordable housing.
That was a first that we did with the Federal Lands Initiative to look at leasing. We are still looking at that for our portfolio of land.
[Translation]
Senator Youance: My question is for Ms. Volk.
Historically, CMHC was bound by program rules based on the complementarity principle. Where a project could reasonably be financed by the market or other public sources, CMHC couldn’t always insure it without violating its own parameters. It was limited in what it could do. You just said that with Build Canada Homes, CMHC will be able to co-fund or insure buyers.
What’s changed? What has Bill C-20 changed in CMHC’s way of doing things?
[English]
Ms. Volk: Thank you for giving me another chance.
When CMHC was asked to deliver programs on behalf of the government, the government would establish the rules, and some of them could be very precise. For us to finance a program, it had to meet that set of rules.
The intention is for Build Canada Homes to not be subject to slices, with individual rules for each slice — that they will be given more flexibility, with an amount of money to do good things for affordable housing, if I can simplify it. Whereas we had money to do good things for affordable housing but in this area with these rules and in this area with these rules.
Build Canada Homes will not have to address those same individual restrictions; that is the intent as we understand it.
We still provide insurance and offer the Apartment Construction Loan Program. We also still have the same rules and tests for those.
Where we can work with BCH on those to make additional things happen. Build Canada Homes can add some sweeteners that will bring something to a level of viability or commercial credibility that wouldn’t have been there without them. For example, if a project is not quite strong enough for us to fund but has very strong social outcomes, Build Canada Homes can inject a little more of a contribution that will make it strong enough for us to fund — for it to meet our test.
[Translation]
Senator Youance: I think that’s a very important point. Thank you.
[English]
Senator Pupatello: Based on some of the questions asked here today, do you have a different way or model of working with Quebec versus Ontario? Do you have good examples of how you have been successful with the Canada Lands Company and CMHC — different models in different places across the country?
Mr. Déry: I can start and give you an example.
Your colleague was talking about 8,900 units in Montréal. We have multiple projects. Canada Lands Company Limited, the non-agent Crown, is bound by all municipal regulations. In Quebec, all of the property in Quebec is owned by the Canada Lands Company Limited, so we work closely with the city because we have to respect zoning and everything. We have announced, with the previous mayor, our development in all of this.
We are working hand in hand with the city. I would say that, for Canada Lands Company Limited, we have been working hand in hand with cities across Canada. The city is even an example they use for the other developers because we have had so much collaboration with them.
Senator Pupatello: Questions have come today about the synergy of the movement of these agencies. A big part of Canada Lands Company is leaving Canada Lands to deal with the attractions that you already have — the CN Tower, Downsview Park, et cetera — and there will likely be savings, for example, with HR and IT, all kinds of systems that would be duplicated across multiple agencies. When you have it all under one umbrella, some parts will have some savings. Are you subject to the 15% reductions that the government is looking for across the board? How do you do that in an era where you actually have to grow to find the various initiatives to ensure these homes are built?
Unfortunately, despite various organizations being involved in this business, we still have a homes issue in the country.
Is this a method of putting the pieces together so that they are all working together under the same roof, and things can move forward on a build and not get stopped up because it is someone else’s business for whatever part that was, the financing, the partnership or relationship? Explain why this will work better.
Mr. Déry: There will definitely be synergy. I mentioned a project in Toronto, Downsview and the Keele sewer project, for example, which will unlock 40,000 units.
Senator Pupatello: That happened before Build Canada Homes.
Mr. Déry: No. It happened in November or December 2025.
Senator Pupatello: That happened before Bill C-20.
Mr. Déry: It happened before Bill C-20, but I will go back to my colleague Lindsay Boldt, who mentioned that the authority of Build Canada Homes rests with the department right now, and the department exercised their authority to fund this project to the tune of — do not quote me on it — around $280 million.
That synergy will still exist and accelerate these investments and projects even more.
Senator Martin: In your response, Ms. Volk, to a senator, you said that Build Canada Homes would not be subject to the kinds of rules and restrictions that CMHC has to adhere to. That does concern me. There’s broad authority, but we want accountability and transparency; these are public funds.
Normal safeguards of the Financial Administration Act don’t apply? They have exemptions? What you said makes me more concerned. Do you have any further explanation for that?
Ms. Volk: Certainly. That is not at all what I intended. It is meant at a program-specific level.
For example, for a particular program type, we might only have been able to deliver housing if it looked like “this.” If the applicant were of this nature, that sort of thing.
Senator Martin: I understand that you are talking about program restrictions, but the broad powers that Build Canada Homes will have, which exempt them from some of the FAA provisions, are concerning. I do not know if you have any comment about that. I will ask the minister when he is here, too.
Ms. Volk: That would be a good question for the minister. I am not familiar with how the governance was set up.
The Chair: As you can assess from around the table, and possibly from myself, we appreciate what you are doing in both organizations.
We are somewhat skeptical of why we need a third organization. You mentioned CMHC, and my ChatGPT assistant mentioned to me that your original mandate came after the Second World War to address the severe housing shortage for veterans returning home.
Do we really need a third organization to help Canadians find affordable housing? Your task was important after the Second World War.
The question is more for the minister, frankly.
We wish to thank you for your testimony, but we want to be convinced here that we need such an additional organization to help Canadians have affordable homes. I speak for myself, but I think a few other senators have the same thinking around the table. We are independent senators, as you know. We thank you.
[Translation]
Honourable senators, we are continuing our study of the subject matter of Bill C-20, An Act respecting the establishment of Build Canada Homes.
We are pleased to welcome the Honourable Gregor Robertson, P.C., M.P., Minister of Housing and Infrastructure.
Welcome and thank you for finding time for us in your busy schedule.
You are accompanied by Paul Halucha, Deputy Minister, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada.
Minister, I invite you to go ahead with your opening remarks, after which members of the committee will certainly have questions for you.
The floor is yours.
[English]
Hon. Gregor Robertson, P.C., M.P., Minister of Housing and Infrastructure: Thank you, chair and honourable senators, for the invitation to appear before you today to discuss Bill C-20, An Act respecting the establishment of Build Canada Homes. I also wish to thank all of you senators for your openness to beginning the study early. Affordable housing is such an important challenge for so many Canadians, and you prioritizing this important legislation reflects the urgency that we feel regarding the need across the country to build more affordable housing faster.
I will start by acknowledging that we are gathered on the traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation. I am also joined, as you said, by Paul Halucha, Deputy Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada.
As you know, this bill seeks to establish Build Canada Homes as a Crown corporation dedicated to building and expanding the supply of affordable homes for Canadians. This legislation is a key tool for addressing Canada’s housing crisis to restore affordability to meet the demands of a growing Canada. We need to drastically increase the housing supply of all types, particularly affordable housing, and to do so in a way that is faster, smarter and more efficient.
Since its launch within our department last September, Build Canada Homes has been operating as a special operating agency within the legal framework of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada. With the passage of this legislation, Build Canada Homes will be granted the independence to take on risks and the operational autonomy to focus on delivering its mandate, all while remaining accountable to Canadians.
With the initial investment of $13 billion from the Budget 2025, Build Canada Homes is a part of a broader set of actions being taken by the federal government to accelerate housing construction, restore housing affordability and reduce homelessness. These actions include reducing red tape, cutting taxes, making more capital available in the Spring Economic Update for rental apartment construction — you just heard from CMHC on that front — and new tax policy for supporting small- and medium-sized homebuilders to build gentle density.
Build Canada Homes will act as a developer, financier and a catalyst for innovation in the housing sector. It will bring together access to public land, expertise in this space and flexible financial tools, all under one roof.
[Translation]
The success of Build Canada Homes’ current and future achievements lies in its partnerships. Stronger collaboration among all levels of government and with partners across the housing ecosystem is needed to address Canada’s housing challenges.
By collaborating with key stakeholders in the housing industry and attracting public, private, and philanthropic investment, Build Canada Homes makes it simpler and faster to get large-scale affordable housing projects off the ground.
[English]
It also creates close partnerships with developers and manufacturers to get housing financed and built. It works directly with builders and housing providers that are focused on long-term affordability, which includes non-profits, cooperatives, community housing providers and organizations that provide a variety of housing options for Canadians.
Build Canada Homes adheres to the Government of Canada’s new Buy Canadian Policy by prioritizing projects that use Canadian materials. This strengthens domestic supply chains and creates good jobs here in Canada.
Buildings, as we know, generate almost 40% of climate pollution, overall. These homes will help Canada fight climate change with low-carbon materials and be resilient to the increasing climate impacts we face. It will also create more demand for Canadian steel, lumber and aluminum, helping workers and businesses thrive. That, in turn, makes Canada’s economy stronger, more resilient to global shocks and better able to support Canadian workers and businesses.
Since its launch, Build Canada Homes has moved quickly to get housing built and projects off the ground. It has delivered measurable progress toward tackling Canada’s housing crisis by advancing six direct-build projects in Dartmouth, Longueuil, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton, with commitments to get shovels in the ground this year. In addition, six major partnerships have already been secured with the City of Ottawa and the governments Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, B.C. and Nunavut with the Nunavut Housing Corporation and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated.
Just last week, I announced a comprehensive agreement to deliver approximately $350 million in housing and related infrastructure in the Yukon through investments under Build Canada Homes and the Build Communities Strong Fund.
All of this early progress demonstrates the organization’s ability to move quickly, deliver results at scale and be very focused on delivering affordable housing in these partnerships. There are many more projects to come and partnerships developing in the months ahead.
I know all senators agree that every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Housing is a fundamental need, and the growing demand for housing across the country requires urgent action.
This legislation is the next milestone that will allow Build Canada Homes to scale up to meet the demand and deliver affordable housing across the country at an unprecedented pace.
Thank you, and I’m happy to take your questions from here.
The Chair: Thank you, minister, for your opening remarks.
Colleagues, we have about 45 minutes left. We’ll try to allow you four minutes each, but I will be very disciplined, so you have to respect your time. We’ll start with the critic of the bill, Senator Martin. You have the floor.
Senator Martin: Thank you, minister.
Bill C-20 creates a multibillion-dollar Crown corporation but completely exempts it from key oversight provisions of the Financial Administration Act. There are four key provisions that I could go into detail about, but you know them, and I think others do as well.
At the same time, the bill leaves affordable housing completely undefined and sets zero statutory targets for actual homes built. I know you talked about early progress and that this will happen at an unprecedented pace. I have a second question related to that.
Why should Parliament hand over an $11.5 billion blank cheque to a new agency without writing strict definitions, production targets and Treasury Board oversight directly into the law? This sort of broad language is very concerning.
Mr. Robertson: Through the chair, first and foremost, senator, Build Canada Homes abides by all of the standard accountability requirements of a Crown corporation, whether that’s financial or reporting through to Parliament. Those are all part of Build Canada Homes’ obligations in terms of public reporting and accountability.
Senator Martin: I am sorry, minister. What they’re exempt from is section 91 on contracts and procurement, that BCH can award contracts without standard procurement oversight. Subsection 99(2) is property disposal approval, that BCH can sell or lease public property without Governor-in-Council approval. Subsection 100(1) is property acquisition limits, that BCH can acquire real property without normal FAA constraints. Sections 89 to 90, limited exemptions for Canada Lands Company transactions.
These are standard provisions that BCH would be exempt from.
Mr. Robertson: Through the chair, I disagree that these are standard. The purpose of Build Canada Homes is to build affordable housing, and those are tools that enable Build Canada Homes to move more nimbly and to respond to the realities in real estate and land development in working with federal lands, which typically takes 10 years to go through a process through to what is called disposal. I think it’s an entirely inappropriate word for the transition of the use of federal land.
That being said, all of the standard provisions for a Crown corporation apply to Build Canada Homes in terms of reporting to Parliament. The Financial Administration Act accountabilities are all part of what Build Canada Homes will abide by.
The specifics that you mentioned there enable the Crown corporation to operate in the reality of the real estate and land development business and be able to get work done. That’s why those provisions are included.
Senator Martin: So you mentioned being nimble, but that agility shouldn’t replace basic public accountability. I wish that those specifics could be written into the bill. Our Finance Committee published a report, and they examined BCH carefully. Based on their recommendation in the report, which was issued on March 25, 2026, minister, would you commit to working with Parliament to ensure that BCH is subject to concrete, public-reported annual targets so Canadians can clearly track whether it is delivering the results you have promised?
Mr. Robertson: To the senator, through the chair, all of the standard reporting through to Parliament is expected and a necessity for Build Canada Homes. There will be financial reporting and results being reported.
We’ve already been pretty open book about this. You’ve met with CEO, Ana Bailão, and have a sense of the scale of what’s already taken place since the beginning of Build Canada Homes. There will be all of the provisions that are in the Financial Administration Act in terms of accountability and reporting publicly on the activities.
The Chair: Thank you, minister.
Senator Fridhandler: Short first question. In your opening remarks, you mentioned prioritization of a Canadian supply chain relative to the goals of BCH. I flipped through the legislation. I didn’t see anything there on that, no recital or no mention, and maybe I missed it, but I do agree it’s very important. Can you tell me the derivation of that comment?
Mr. Robertson: So my understanding — and my deputy minister can weigh in here with clarification — but the Buy Canadian Policy is applying across government. It will be inclusive of Build Canada Homes as a Crown corporation.
Certainly, in terms of the operating approach to date, that is included in the investment criteria as an important element when the Build Canada Homes investment committee is weighing and prioritizing project proposals. If they have more Canadian materials, they’ll be looked at more favourably by the agency.
Paul Halucha, Deputy Minister, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada: I would say it’s very clear in the investment policy. The Buy Canada components are all laid out there, and those are effectively the basis on which the governing committee — the investment policy committee for Build Canada Homes guides the CEO and the committee decisions around specific projects to support.
Senator Fridhandler: Second question. We have talked a lot today, and we’ve heard from various leadership in this space about the fragmentation in federal government support of affordable housing, and there is some degree of consolidation here relative to Canada Lands Company and, perhaps, although not legislatively, CMHC.
I had asked earlier, and I would appreciate if we could get a list of every program and operation that addresses affordable housing, because I think it’s a lofty goal and, certainly, a supported goal that there be some consolidation of expertise. But I don’t really see it, and I would like to understand it better for our committee’s perspective.
Mr. Robertson: Well, I agree with you. Historically, it has been a fragmented approach from the federal government on housing generally but specifically on affordable housing. I come to this with my former mayor’s hat on and the challenges that we had in the City of Vancouver, figuring out who to talk to in the federal government for support on the housing front. There was no one-stop shop, no agency that was purely focused on affordable housing. That was where we needed help. With most local governments, that is where help is needed, on non-market housing, as well as projects that have a mix of housing, but that includes some non-market housing. Previously, there were multiple stops in Ottawa on this.
The purpose of Build Canada Homes is to have that focus: one agency that is solely focused on affordable housing. That affordable housing spans from supportive and transitional housing for those most in need, at risk or actually homeless, and that is deeply affordable housing that requires more subsidies, the right to affordable rental and kind of “missing middle” housing, as it gets called — co-op housing, housing with different equity or different financial structures.
All of that in one agency that can also leverage the tools — that access federal land and the tools that other developers across the country are able to utilize is a very powerful and focused approach for affordable housing. We don’t have that in CMHC currently or in Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada or in the Canada Lands Company. Each has pieces of that puzzle, but the purpose here is to consolidate that work into one agency so that it’s very focused on delivery.
[Translation]
Senator Henkel: Once again, minister and deputy minister, welcome to the committee.
If Build Canada Homes is to act on the entire housing continuum, we also need to know how it will support those who are the furthest away from having stable housing: women fleeing violence, those experiencing homelessness who need transitional housing and Indigenous populations.
For now, however, there still seems to be confusion about the status of shelters and safe houses in Build Canada Homes’ mandate.
Could you clarify what will be eligible? What steps is your department taking to ensure these vulnerable populations are not forgotten in the implementation of Build Canada Homes?
Mr. Robertson: Thank you for the question. This is a very important topic for us.
[English]
Build Canada Homes will be focused on the housing piece that is related to solving homelessness. That’s transitional and supportive housing. There has been some confusion around the definition of “shelters,” particularly in Quebec, where women’s shelters actually do housing. They have transitional and supportive housing, but they’re called shelters. We’ve had to clarify this a number of times now to make sure they know they are eligible and that projects are now being approved because those women’s shelters, as they’re called, actually provide transitional and supportive housing.
Build Canada Homes’ initial $13 billion allocation in Budget 2025 was $1 billion for supportive and transitional housing. That is moving well and expeditiously with projects and proposals coming along. A number of those are from the same women’s shelters that, senator, I believe you’re referencing. Build Canada Homes is able to support those. There are several thousand homes in the works that are supportive and transitional, and some in those women’s shelters.
We have to make sure they meet those eligibility criteria. The Reaching Home initiative, which falls under Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada and is the broader homelessness initiative, has funding for shelters specifically, as well as outreach services and other supports for people who are at risk and prevention services to keep people in their homes, rather than have them on the street or in shelters.
We do delineate that Build Canada Homes is focused on housing specifically, but we make sure that anyone who is in the shelter business and building and providing housing can be involved and supported.
Senator Henkel: Thank you. I have a quick question.
[Translation]
Several experts have already recommended to the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills Development, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the other place that quantified targets be included in Bill C-20, as well as a very clear definition of the word “affordable” and a mandatory parliamentary review. Are you open to amendments? If not, are you willing to look at regulations, ministerial directives or other mechanisms to make sure those concerns are actually addressed? Thank you.
Mr. Robertson: Thank you for the question.
[English]
Although we have not locked in a definition for affordability in the legislation, we have an operating definition for affordability. Housing is considered affordable when it is less than 30% of a household’s income before tax in that immediate area. That is a shift from historical definitions, which have been more about the real estate market and could make it more difficult for people to access affordable housing within their regions or communities.
Considering we have a permanent Crown corporation established by statute, that Crown corporation should have some operational flexibility. That’s the thinking here. As market conditions and funding partnerships change, we want to make sure, when we think about affordability and its definition, that they can be fine-tuned or adjusted. Affordability is different across Canada in different regions. It will look different depending on income bands in different communities.
Operationally, we’re using that definition of affordability right now as part of investment decision making. All of this will be made public and reported to Parliament as part of Build Canada Homes’ legal requirements —
The Chair: Sorry, minister. I have to interrupt you. Sorry about that.
Senator Ringuette: Earlier, minister, CMHC told us that, in regard to delivering not-for-profit housing units, they were faced with siloed programs and specific criteria. In this committee, we usually call that red tape. Now, all of a sudden, we have an entity that removes these silos and shackles and provides for new, innovative thinking in regard to the delivery mechanism.
Could you elaborate on the accountability that is necessary in the reporting to Parliament and the reduction of red tape and silos? How did you arrive at this conclusion that you needed to remove the red tape in order to be able to deliver in an efficient and transparent way in reports? Could you elaborate on that?
Mr. Robertson: Thank you for the question. The opportunity with Build Canada Homes that is very distinct from the work that CMHC has been doing on affordable housing and that of Canada Lands Company, who have historically included some affordable housing in their developments. Both are limited by definition, by —
Senator Ringuette: By red tape.
Mr. Robertson: — by red tape and by the definitions and the mandates that CMHC and Canada Lands Company have. They’re limited in terms of the risks they can take and in terms of resources. That has been the overall challenge. They’ve also been limited in terms of being able to develop land. The CMHC does not develop land. They do financing, and they are limited in terms of how much risk they can take on that financing.
Deeply affordable housing carries a lot more risk, so there were many projects that were just a little too far beyond the margin, and there was quite a bit of frustration, I would say, in the non-market housing space, in the community builder space. There have been many years where co-ops haven’t gotten built since the earlier days, generations ago, when there was a lot of co-op housing built. Build Canada Homes will have more flexibility and more capacity with financial tools and access to land that comes from the Canada Lands Company side to be able to put together more innovative deals in terms of financing, leveraging the land base and bringing different partners to the table in a way that CMHC and Canada Lands Company have not been able to do. By definition, they cannot put together more innovative partnerships in the same way. They’re limited to the definitions they were created under.
I think there is a real opportunity for this new agency to move faster, to be more collaborative with partners, to leverage the financial and land-based tools in a way that we haven’t seen before and to draw on some of the talent that has been at CMHC, Canada Lands Company and within our department to bring that new institutional memory into the organization.
Senator Wallin: We’ve been going around this topic today, and I think everybody understands your intent is to create something with a sharper focus, and that’s more streamlined, but that’s not what this accomplishes. We have now three bureaucracies. Two of them will shrink a little bit — CMHC and the Canada Lands Company will shrink — but there are so many other players in this, including the Canada Infrastructure Bank and dozens of stand-alone funding streams that exist in other programs, for example, Indigenous housing. There are a lot of things at the table.
If you really wanted to reinvent the wheel, why didn’t you just reinvent the wheel and say that everything would be merged under this one title? Then there wouldn’t be a CMHC. They could be a funding department inside Build Canada Homes. Canada Lands Company could go over there. The different pieces are all over the place. You could put it all in one place. Everybody wants fewer regulations and less red tape, but we don’t see that as a result of what you’re creating here.
Mr. Robertson: Thank you, senator, for the question. I see it quite differently in that we are creating a new agency that has a focus on affordable housing, specifically on non-market housing. The challenge for CMHC is that they’ve been charged with responsibility across the entire continuum of housing, and over the decades that they’ve existed, different governments have said, well, do more of this or that. It has become a very large entity with a vast array of responsibilities.
The thinking here is that we should have one agency focused on affordable housing and give it all the tools needed. That’s Build Canada Homes. CMHC retains the work that they do on market housing, which is the Apartment Construction Loan Program, a very successful program investing in market rental housing. That includes MLI select, doing mortgage insurance for the market as well, and a lot of research on the housing market that is very helpful for everyone operating. So CMHC retains those functions and focuses there. Build Canada Homes focuses on affordable housing and non-market housing, which is very different from market housing.
The land component of Canada Lands Company goes into Build Canada Homes because that’s where we need to be building affordable homes.
Senator Wallin: Build Canada Homes is the overlord here, as we’ve been hearing from the other players. At the end of the day, we are still with three boards, three CEOs, three budget streams and three reporting streams, not to mention the other stand-alone programs and the Infrastructure Bank. If you’re looking for a housing solution, then put it under one umbrella so we don’t have the added costs of different bureaucracies throughout the system.
Mr. Robertson: At this point, there is more efficiency in having focused agencies that have a clear mandate, that have the tools that they need to deliver that and the accountability around that. Right now, the challenge is that we’re spread out, and there are overlaps — as you identified — certainly with Indigenous housing. The Minister of Indigenous Services Canada has been charged with bringing forward an Indigenous housing strategy because that happens in its own silo effectively.
Canada Infrastructure Bank doesn’t do housing. They finance some infrastructure related to housing that enables housing to get built, as does our department. But infrastructure is a separate stream and is, effectively, a separate business.
Build Canada Homes will have a very clear lane to deliver on affordable housing and stay lean and efficient. That’s really the goal here. Building big conglomerates of organizations also has its challenges with red tape and inefficiency, and this is a way to cut through that.
Senator McBean: Minister Robertson, this is a different lane a little bit. To increase affordability, the government recently announced the removal of the HST on newly purchased new-build homes in this fiscal year. Many Canadians who signed purchase agreements before the announcement are still required to pay the HST because their contracts predate the policy change even though their new-build homes are closing within the eligibility period. These buyers are now in a “double whammy” because they purchased at a peak market price with the HST, including the high development charges embedded in the cost, and now they are selling their existing home in a declining market.
There are two parts to this question. First, has the government considered any transitional relief or flexibility to ensure that these purchasers are not unfairly disadvantaged compared to the ones who weren’t covered under the new rebate rules?
Secondly, can buyers and sellers expect that the HST removal will be extended, lining up with the Build Canada Homes projects hitting the market in the future?
Mr. Robertson: Thanks for the question. There is no direct connection to the GST or HST in Ontario relief that is taking place. There is a housing supply act that’s before Parliament right now — before the House — that is contemplating or proposing that revenue is transferred to provinces and territories for them to increase housing the way they see fit. Ontario is choosing to reduce the entire HST as part of that, contributing their provincial component.
Within the timelines of that, as within the timelines of the first-time homebuyers’ tax break, a date has to be chosen at which buyers entered contracts, irrespective of any potential savings of GST or HST. That’s the directive that we were given by the Department of Finance Canada — that there has to be a date chosen for that.
I know there’s been some movement of that in the amendments related to the first-time homebuyers’ legislation that pushed it earlier to the first signal of that going to the market. In this case, there isn’t any connection between that work around GST or HST and anything to do with Build Canada Homes.
Senator McBean: When the Build Canada Homes program hits the market, if the HST comes back onto then once again, there are always the buyers and the sellers. We’re trying to increase affordability, and buyers and sellers are trying to figure out what side of the wave they’re on if they’re buying a place that had HST or didn’t have HST and if they’re competing against a market where you’re selling a home that had HST on it against a home that didn’t have HST on it. I’m trying to figure out if there are any protections for people coming in on either side of the wave because the ultimate goal is for people to buy more homes. Build Canada Homes is supposed to make homes more affordable.
Mr. Robertson: Build Canada Homes is focused on rental housing and not homeownership. Two thirds of Canadians buy and sell and own homes; the other third is renting. In cities like mine in Vancouver, actually, a majority of people rent versus own their homes. Build Canada Homes will be very focused on rental housing and deeply affordable rental housing, so it wouldn’t be affected by the GST or the HST.
Senator McBean: Thank you.
Senator Ince: Thank you, minister and deputy minister, for being here. Accessibility advocates warn that Canada risks building a new generation of inaccessible housing. Why was accessibility not embedded as a foundational principle in legislation, rather than left to policy or program design?
Mr. Robertson: Thank you, senator, for the question. Again, that’s another really important concern. The design of the legislation keeps a number of these elements — accessibility being a key one of those — to be determined, basically, at the project and assessment criteria level. So there is flexibility for the organization to work with proponents and bring that forward rather than fixing a floor in the legislation. They will set that standard in terms of their investment policy, and from that policy decisions that are made around projects that are funded. The standard has been rising, thankfully, across the country, and the demand is certainly there for that. Maybe the deputy minister can speak to that. There is ongoing work looking at accessibility standards that we would anticipate Build Canada Homes investment criteria would cue off of.
Mr. Halucha: I’ll just add to what the minister said. It is extremely important, and thank you for bringing it up. It is part of the investment policy. We are in discussion with Build Canada Homes about whether a specific standard would be adopted and be mandatory or required on a percentage of the units that they support.
The government has a very strong record on this. There are a couple of data points. The design catalogue included many accessible standards, and that was done deliberately in order to make it easier for adoption by builders across the country.
Since 2017, under the National Housing Strategy, we’ve created, renewed or repaired almost 54,000 accessible housing units, so there is a strong record for the government. Under our infrastructure programming, we have almost 97% of our designs that meet accessibility standards in the local area.
It’s really important to the department and to the portfolio, and we’ll be working with Build Canada Homes on that.
[Translation]
Senator Youance: My question will focus on the accounting, financial and strategic considerations around the valuation of the assets that will be transferred to Build Canada Homes.
Some Crown properties will be transferred from the Canada Lands Company to Build Canada Homes. Has the government considered transferring these assets using their book value rather than their market value? That way, Build Canada Homes could have a stronger balance sheet and have more fiscal flexibility to meet its affordability and social housing objectives, rather than being burdened by the upfront costs of market valuing.
[English]
Mr. Robertson: Thank you, senator, for the question.
First and foremost, Build Canada Homes is not accessing assets of CMHC. They are accessing the assets of Canada Lands Company, which are federal land assets that have been transferred into Canada Lands Company into the land bank.
Historically, unfortunately, those transfers have come at basically a market rate value, which means — as you have stated — you can’t achieve as much affordability if you pay another department for land at market value.
We are pursuing here a change so that land that is brought in from other departments, other federal land, is transferred in at book value, which in many cases is nominal, so that extra costs are not borne by the development, and therefore deeper affordability is possible. We’re taking the land costs right down to a minimum, rather than having to pay for that land to another federal department.
The Prime Minister is very clear this change needs to be made.
We are working through that process now with Canada Lands Company and with Public Services and Procurement Canada, which are really the hub of this activity around federal land transfers and disposal, in the end.
[Translation]
Senator Youance: Can you assure us the government won’t reverse this procedure?
Mr. Robertson: Thank you for the question.
[English]
It is a good question because it needs to have some permanence to ensure that, as land is transferred and projects are structured by Build Canada Homes, there is some certainty going forward that land value will be at book value rather than something flexible.
I don’t know what the instrument will be to fix that more permanently in our approach, but that is something the Prime Minister has tasked myself and Minister Lightbound at PSPC with to ensure we figure out a system to deliver that.
Senator Loffreda: Welcome once again, minister and deputy minister.
You mentioned affordable, non-market housing and market housing a few times. According to clauses 20(c) and 20(d) of Bill C-20, part of Build Canada Homes’ mandate is to invest in individuals and entities involved in the supply of affordable housing in Canada, as well as in ventures and enterprises that support the adoption of innovative and efficient building techniques.
Minister, I would appreciate if you could elaborate on the government’s understanding of affordability in this context. How does the government define what is considered affordable housing? Is that definition adjusted to reflect the realities of different housing markets and regions across the country? Given the significant disparities, especially in urban and non-urban centres and in housing costs between communities, how will Build Canada Homes assess local needs and ensure that its investments reflect the economic realities faced by Canadians in different regions?
Mr. Robertson: Thank you, senator, for the question.
It is critical that we improve our approach and our definition around affordability. That’s why the change in that definition with Build Canada Homes is to 30% of before-tax income. Gross income, 30% in a local area. Basically, all of the projects that come forward to Build Canada Homes for partnership or investment are working with a local partner so that local definition of affordability would apply for each project.
There is a limited amount of funding here to fund and finance projects. The projects that have the most compelling affordability mix will be funded first. With all of the programs across government, there are more applications, requests and proposals than can be funded at any one time.
The competition for proponents coming to Build Canada Homes for investment and partnership is to achieve deeper affordability, to deliver more affordability, and certainly under that 30% definition of pre-tax income.
We want to be clear. This is not going off of local real estate market metrics, which can skew. As the senator was inferring that real estate markets are different in different parts of the country, the real estate market does not necessarily connect or correlate to incomes in that local area.
It is shifting the definition to income-based for Build Canada Homes projects.
Senator Loffreda: Thank you.
Senator Galvez: Minister, thank you for being here with us today.
You have heard from my colleagues that we have several issues. This is a complex situation where there is a new player with very strong powers and a lot of funds and borrowing capabilities.
Earlier, I asked about the targets. How many units will be delivered? Unfortunately, I did not get an answer.
The PBO has come and said programs are expiring, and so there will be no funds. All of this causes a lot of uncertainty and skepticism to use the word that the chair used.
The review is after 5 years and then after 10 years, but the situation is a crisis. Can you reassure the committee by saying what or how you will report?
To me, the number of units, by affordability — however you define “affordability” — including market, low-market, non-market and deeply affordable, rent-geared-to-income, supportive and social housing, we need to have an idea in all of these areas in order to confidently accept the bill as it is right now.
Mr. Robertson: Thank you, senator, for the question and concern. I share the concern that we need to have good reporting of the outcomes and results here.
The approach that Build Canada Homes will take will be looking at that whole continuum of affordable housing, from supportive and transitional housing to the middle market, affordable rental housing, which it is responsible for scaling up and supporting across the country.
As minister, I expect there will be robust reporting across the continuum: How much housing is being delivered and how affordable it is in each of those types of housing?
Senator Galvez: Is it possible to write to the committee? In many other situations, things have been accepted when we have a compromise, an engagement, that is not in the bill, but at least we can hold it.
Mr. Robertson: Yes. As I said, my expectation is that there will be robust reporting; otherwise, we don’t know what is happening.
First and foremost, all of the reporting requirements of a Crown corporation apply. That will be annual reporting to Parliament across the board of not only the plans and budgets but quarterly financial reports as well. It will be clear from the financial reporting how much funding is going out into projects.
There will be regular reporting of how many homes are being financed and delivered, when they are being delivered and what types of housing is being delivered. If there isn’t robust reporting, it would be hard to have confidence in a big and new organization like this. Right out of the gate, there needs to be really solid reporting.
I will say we don’t have a clear sense of how much private capital we can leverage. The early indicators — working with provinces, private developers and community builders — mean we will be able to leverage a lot of investment because Build Canada Homes is taking the risk out of the projects and welcoming in more capital. We’ll be able to leverage more affordable housing than ever before.
We want to see what those numbers look like and create a template for reporting and be able to reflect on our progress as we go forward. That is my strong expectation that there is going to be really great reporting because we are going to have very good results.
Mr. Halucha: Just to add on a couple points to what the minister said. There will be a corporate plan as well. As soon as it becomes a Crown corporation, a prerequisite is that there is a corporate plan in place; obviously, a summary of that goes to Parliament.
Second, the minister, on an annual basis as he does with other Crown corporations in the portfolio, will do a priorities and accountabilities letter at this stage, clearly stating what the mandate and expectations are. It allows for regular adjustments to performance and what the organization is doing on an annual basis.
The third thing: it won’t just appear as a Crown corporation. It is right now a special operating agency in the department. We have been incubating it for the last eight, nine months, and that is about building in a lot of those accountabilities over this period of time. It will be mature. There are a lot of very experienced civil servants and others, along with private-sector people who are already in the organization.
The committee should have confidence that this has been a core part of our work to get the organization ready to support and deliver on the government’s agenda.
[Translation]
Senator Dalphond: I might put my former corporate lawyer hat on for this.
[English]
Senator Dalphond: First, my question is about the corporate structure and the purpose of the company. The purpose of the corporation is to promote and support affordable housing and to promote innovation and efficiency in building techniques.
Is that allowing the corporation to do things that will not be useful for affordable housing?
[Translation]
Mr. Robertson: Thank you for the question.
[English]
Do you mean for the second part of the mandate?
Senator Dalphond: Yes.
Mr. Robertson: The way the two mandates fit together is that the future of home building, as we see particularly in Europe and in Asia, is more manufactured components, more efficiency.
Senator Dalphond: Prefab.
Mr. Robertson: Like everything else we have, it is manufactured in a plant, under controlled conditions, better conditions for workers, typically, but also innovation, mechanization and digitization now. That is the way we get more productivity out of our homebuilding sector. Canada is lagging far behind. We’re at 4%; 4.5% of our homes are manufactured.
Senator Dalphond: It is first designed to assist the affordability issue?
Mr. Robertson: It will help contribute to affordability. Across all of housing, if we scale up the prefab off-site manufacturing industry, that will help all of the homebuilding industry, not just affordable housing but all of the industry.
Senator Dalphond: I understand.
Next question: Appointment of directors, you will be the one recommending appointments. What is the plan? Will you be going fast after Royal Assent? What kinds of candidates are you looking for, those with expertise in construction or in social housing?
[Translation]
Mr. Robertson: Both.
[English]
Both. We need —
Senator Dalphond: Or finance?
Mr. Robertson: And finance as well. We need a very diverse array of skill sets and certainly the private sector. Almost all of the housing in Canada is built by the private sector. But experience in private-sector building, in finance, obviously, and in the community, non-profit sector as well, which builds and operates a lot of deeply affordable housing.
We need to have a very diverse array of board members. I would like to see that board active as soon as possible and bringing their expertise to the table and helping the organization to —
Senator Dalphond: You are looking for candidates, I suppose?
Mr. Robertson: Yes. Already looking, thinking ahead and thinking who is out there who will make fantastic board members.
Senator Pupatello: I was curious about the transition of housing and support, as that’s a big part of the plan and understanding that historically housing used to be 30-33 provincial, federal and municipal, and everybody loved it when it was like that. Many years ago, 2005, when I was involved in all of that, we knew that we had to find the wraparound money to put around these supportive houses.
How do you go about making these deals, knowing that your provincial counterparts are paying for the supportive piece? Otherwise, it is not a supportive house, whether that is a women’s shelter, homes for people with developmental disabilities. We are in bad shape in Ontario, in particular on both of those fronts.
Do they have to come to you? Does the municipality come? How do you get that? That is question one.
Question two: How do these innovative companies who are all chomping at the bit to participate, 3-D printing companies that are doing additive manufacturing for housing and they just don’t know how to get into the queue and get in the supply chain? Could you address those two?
Mr. Robertson: Yes. I can speak to both as briefly as possible, given the chair’s mandate.
On the first question on supportive and transitional housing, we are relying upon provincial governments to bring that. Most of that is health funding for health supports and supportive housing.
Social and employment services come into the mix as well; those wraparound services are provincial responsibilities. We do not want to be taking those on as the federal government. We’re putting the capital forward, which is an important component, obviously. There has been great uptake, as I mentioned. We now have thousands of homes that are in that pipeline that are being backed by provincial governments in terms of wraparound services.
There may be some that come forward with philanthropic funding to do the wraparound services, but ideally, it is the provinces who are covering that long term. That’s part of the negotiating and the deal-making that we are doing with provinces and territories right now and pushing hard to get as much as we can because homelessness is at record levels, and this is a solution for homelessness. This ensures there is housing and also wraparound supports for people who need it.
On your second question, with innovation and the companies that are doing off-site manufacturing and modern methods of construction is the language that we’re using, Build Canada Homes has already done full outreach and surveys to that industry; basically, to put together a whole registry of the companies and the suppliers who are there because we also have the developers and the project proponents coming forward and looking for what companies to purchase, whether it be wall and floor panels or kitchen and bath pods or entire volume metric units. Build Canada Homes can play that matchmaking and facilitating role at the same time as ensuring that industries talk to each other.
Build Canada Homes is not responsible for putting the deals together on the procurement side for the developers and project proponents. We want to see that grow organically, but Build Canada Homes has an important role in driving the demand because it is a part of the investment criteria. The projects that are going to be selected have modern methods of construction and Canadian-made materials. Those score points in the matrix for projects to get financed. There is a big incentive there. There is a driver for the demand side.
I am working as well with the Minister of Industry, Mélanie Joly, on the piece around how else can we support the prefab and modern methods of the construction industry to scale up? How do we help those companies make sure they are building the products that are needed for these housing projects? It will happen both on the industry, ministry side and within Build Canada Homes.
The Chair: Thank you, minister. I gave up my own question because I forgot I promised the critic of the bill the last question.
Senator Martin: Yes. The answer could be in writing, but it is regarding another Financial Administration Act exemption. It is clause 43. It is Part X of the Financial Administration Act. This section establishes the legal, financial and accountability framework for federal Crown corporations. It ensures that government-owned enterprises, like Build Canada Homes, are properly managed and answerable to Parliament.
Why does clause 43 give Build Canada Homes an exemption to this important accountability? You can read the clause, but 43 cites the Governor-in-Council may, by order, declare that any of the provisions of Part X of the Financial Administration Act do not apply to measures taken by the corporation, or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries or Canada Lands Company Limited, or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries under a directive made under subsection 36.1. The fact that there is this exemption, which is built-in accountability, is concerning. Would you answer that in a written response? Thank you.
Mr. Robertson: Thank you. Yes, senator, it applies very specifically to the land transfer from Canada Lands Company. It is not a broad provision for Build Canada Homes.
In terms of the purpose or rationale, it only applies to the context of the Canada Lands Company Limited transition. That’s the federal land moving over to Build Canada Homes, which basically goes from one federal entity, one Crown corporation, to another Crown corporation, subject to all of the Financial Administration Act accountabilities.
The Chair: Thank you. Minister, I will be able to reach your office with my question; it is about the PBO, and to increase our comfort zone. The PBO mentioned it is only 26,000 additional units in the next five years. And $13 billion in taxpayers’ money appears, to me, pretty high for each additional affordable unit. I will send you a written question, and you can share a written answer to increase the comfort zone of our committee.
Colleagues, on your behalf, I wish to thank the minister and deputy minister. No doubt, senators agree the objective of increasing affordability is important, but we will have some observations and suggestions to improve the bill. Thank you for your appearance.
Colleagues, we will see you tomorrow.
(The committee adjourned.)