Federal budget is all ‘smoke and mirrors’ on housing affordability in Ontario, critic says

The federal government’s latest budget designed to tackle the soaring cost of housing does little for those who need the most help, according to several experts.

“There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors here,” said David Hulchanski, a housing and community development professor at the University of Toronto.

Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said in the House of Commons Thursday housing is the “most pressing economic and social issue in Canada today,” and thus, the centrepiece in the Liberals’ budget. The numbers underscore the urgency of the problem. Prices are so high in most markets across the country that nine out of 10 aspiring home buyers surveyed in a recent poll said they’ve all but given up on their dreams of owning a home. READ MORE  > >