Latest news with #MarkCarney-led
Vancouver Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
'They were just hell-bent': Mayor battling Ottawa over 'really left' housing mandate
In a very civil tone, the mayor of Windsor, Ont., is asking the fresh faces in the Mark Carney-led Liberal government to butt out of city planning. Mayor Drew Dilkens especially wants to see an end to Trudeau-era affordable housing mandates from Ottawa that don't serve his community. 'They were just hell-bent on putting forward this really left-principled version of what housing should be,' Drew says of the conditions imposed on cities under the $4-billion housing accelerator fund launched in 2023 by then federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser. Unlike most other big cities in Canada, Windsor chose not to apply for the housing accelerator dollars — turning down the possibility of a $30-million cash infusion into the city's densification strategies. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. City council didn't dare to accept the funds and later renege on the feds' conditions, Drew says: 'We basically walked away from $30 million because we refused to succumb, or be co-opted into something we felt was bad for the community.' Then-Liberal MP for Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore, Irek Kusmierczyk (who lost the 2025 election by just four votes to Conservative MP Kathy Borrelli), implored Windsor's city council to reconsider, insisting the feds were only asking for 'gentle density.' It's not so gentle, Drew counters, if you find yourself living next door to a new four-plex and you bought your house based on the community's single-family residential character. 'We did it in our way,' Drew explains in a recent conversation, 'because there's no one who knows their community better, no level of government that knows their community better,' than the local council. The 53-year-old lawyer-cum-mayor grew up in Windsor, and has served on the city's council for nearly two decades, 11 as mayor. And when you look at Canada's Constitution, Drew points out, these issues are 'under the bailiwick of the provincial government … who delegate it to the municipalities.' The city's locally generated housing strategies — intense densification along transit routes; blanket rezoning in new neighbourhoods to allow for greater density; repurposing several municipally owned properties for housing — were rejected by the fund's managers as 'not ambitious enough.' 'Ambition' was their favourite word, Drew grumbles: 'We weren't ambitious enough and they wanted to work with municipalities who had greater ambition.' One of the biggest sticking points for Drew? The minimum ticket to entry for this fund was city-wide rezoning to allow four-plexes to be built on any residential lot, as a right — removing the public hearing process and the possibility for appeals. In the suburban Calgary neighbourhood where I live, blanket rezoning means neighbours hold their breath when a lot comes up for sale. The province of Ontario already mandates three buildings on a residential lot, the bureaucrats told Drew, so what's the big deal about adding four? His rebuttal: 'Then what's the big deal about adding five? I mean, where does it stop? And when do you get to say enough's enough; that we have processes in place that allow us to look at sewer capacity, that allow us to deal with parking, that allow us to deal with garbage control? 'We hope to work with the federal government — who wants to truly be a partner in helping build more housing — without jamming down our throats something residents don't want,' pleads the veteran mayor. To that end, after Carney took power, the mayor sent a letter — as yet, unanswered — to the government, asking for a re-evaluation of this rigid approach to the housing accelerator fund. Drew has previously worked with Gregor Robertson, former mayor of Vancouver and now Carney's point man on housing and infrastructure. He's optimistic Robertson will bring practical insights about the correlation between affordable housing and density to the federal table. I noted that if increased density brought affordability, Vancouver would be cheap by now. 'I think the benefit of having a fresh government,' Drew offers, 'is they can come in and say, 'Listen, we looked at the program … while we appreciate the intention the past government was trying to employ here, we think there's a better way of working with municipalities, allowing them the flexibility to determine how to accomplish the goal. We'll set the goals and then we'll hold them to account.'' Drew's suggestion echoes what I heard Pierre Poilievre say in the last election campaign. But, we agree, there's nothing wrong with the Liberals stealing good ideas from the Conservatives. We hope to work with the federal government ... without jamming down our throats something residents don't want While the housing accelerator initiative is the focus of Windsor council's attention, Drew's not happy these blanket zoning mandates are being applied to other programs — including federal public transit and housing infrastructure funding available to municipalities. 'And it gets even better,' Drew continues, his tone increasingly agitated. 'Guess who doesn't have to do this? The entire province of Quebec. They have an exemption. They carved out a different pathway … four units as of right was not a requirement in the province of Quebec.' Indeed, Premier Francois Legault trumpeted his $900-million deal with Ottawa as being 'free of conditions.' The economy of Windsor has taken a sharp downturn in the past 18 months. Before Donald Trump's re-election, the Conference Board of Canada predicted Windsor would be the fastest-growing city by GDP of the 24 big cities they studied. 'We had the battery factory well under construction,' Drew reports, 'and we've got the Gordie Howe bridge that is winding up construction and should open officially the first week of December this year. 'But the reality is, there's a lot of fear here,' he shares. 'Our unemployment rate was almost 11 per cent and people are in rainy day mode. People are pinching their pennies … The housing market is very slow and everyone's just in a wait-and-see mode.' Property developers are on standby, he says, waiting to see if the Carney Liberals will cut development charges by 50 per cent at the municipal level (as promised during the election campaign), and whether the feds will offer low-interest loans for multi-storey residential units. 'Things have just kind of ground to a halt here,' Drew says with a sigh. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Edmonton Journal
2 days ago
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
'They were just hell-bent': Mayor battling Ottawa over 'really left' housing mandate
In a very civil tone, the mayor of Windsor, Ont., is asking the fresh faces in the Mark Carney-led Liberal government to butt out of city planning. Mayor Drew Dilkens especially wants to see an end to Trudeau-era affordable housing mandates from Ottawa that don't serve his community. Article content 'They were just hell-bent on putting forward this really left-principled version of what housing should be,' Drew says of the conditions imposed on cities under the $4-billion housing accelerator fund launched in 2023 by then federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser. Article content Article content Unlike most other big cities in Canada, Windsor chose not to apply for the housing accelerator dollars — turning down the possibility of a $30-million cash infusion into the city's densification strategies. Article content Article content City council didn't dare to accept the funds and later renege on the feds' conditions, Drew says: 'We basically walked away from $30 million because we refused to succumb, or be co-opted into something we felt was bad for the community.' Article content Then-Liberal MP for Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore, Irek Kusmierczyk (who lost the 2025 election by just four votes to Conservative MP Kathy Borrelli), implored Windsor's city council to reconsider, insisting the feds were only asking for 'gentle density.' Article content It's not so gentle, Drew counters, if you find yourself living next door to a new four-plex and you bought your house based on the community's single-family residential character. Article content Article content 'We did it in our way,' Drew explains in a recent conversation, 'because there's no one who knows their community better, no level of government that knows their community better,' than the local council. The 53-year-old lawyer-cum-mayor grew up in Windsor, and has served on the city's council for nearly two decades, 11 as mayor. Article content Article content And when you look at Canada's Constitution, Drew points out, these issues are 'under the bailiwick of the provincial government … who delegate it to the municipalities.' Article content The city's locally generated housing strategies — intense densification along transit routes; blanket rezoning in new neighbourhoods to allow for greater density; repurposing several municipally owned properties for housing — were rejected by the fund's managers as 'not ambitious enough.' Article content 'Ambition' was their favourite word, Drew grumbles: 'We weren't ambitious enough and they wanted to work with municipalities who had greater ambition.'
Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
'They were just hell-bent': Mayor battling Ottawa over 'really left' housing mandate
In a very civil tone, the mayor of Windsor, Ont., is asking the fresh faces in the Mark Carney-led Liberal government to butt out of city planning. Mayor Drew Dilkens especially wants to see an end to Trudeau-era affordable housing mandates from Ottawa that don't serve his community. Article content 'They were just hell-bent on putting forward this really left-principled version of what housing should be,' Drew says of the conditions imposed on cities under the $4-billion housing accelerator fund launched in 2023 by then federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser. Article content Article content Unlike most other big cities in Canada, Windsor chose not to apply for the housing accelerator dollars — turning down the possibility of a $30-million cash infusion into the city's densification strategies. Article content Article content City council didn't dare to accept the funds and later renege on the feds' conditions, Drew says: 'We basically walked away from $30 million because we refused to succumb, or be co-opted into something we felt was bad for the community.' Article content Then-Liberal MP for Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore, Irek Kusmierczyk (who lost the 2025 election by just four votes to Conservative MP Kathy Borrelli), implored Windsor's city council to reconsider, insisting the feds were only asking for 'gentle density.' Article content It's not so gentle, Drew counters, if you find yourself living next door to a new four-plex and you bought your house based on the community's single-family residential character. Article content Article content 'We did it in our way,' Drew explains in a recent conversation, 'because there's no one who knows their community better, no level of government that knows their community better,' than the local council. The 53-year-old lawyer-cum-mayor grew up in Windsor, and has served on the city's council for nearly two decades, 11 as mayor. Article content Article content And when you look at Canada's Constitution, Drew points out, these issues are 'under the bailiwick of the provincial government … who delegate it to the municipalities.' Article content The city's locally generated housing strategies — intense densification along transit routes; blanket rezoning in new neighbourhoods to allow for greater density; repurposing several municipally owned properties for housing — were rejected by the fund's managers as 'not ambitious enough.' Article content 'Ambition' was their favourite word, Drew grumbles: 'We weren't ambitious enough and they wanted to work with municipalities who had greater ambition.'
Winnipeg Free Press
7 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Nation-building projects and government rules
Opinion The Mark Carney-led liberals were elected for a change. We hoped that the new prime minister, intimate of the titans of finance, was ideally equipped to ride the wave of national outrage (and pride) to provide the leadership to counter the economic assault from our southern neighbours. One of the hallmarks of national leadership is to advance at least some initiatives that are clearly in the national interest but may draw fire from some segments of society. The prime minister would certainly say that Bill C-5, legislation to — among other things — speed up the approval process for 'nation-building' projects, and a companion initiative to identify 'unnecessary' regulation exemplify such leadership. The main criticisms of C-5 have come from First Nations and environmental groups. These concerns have been well articulated, and are now being acted out in court. Although it may change, the fact is that this bill is now the law of the land, and therefore should also be assessed in terms of whether it will in fact achieve its objective of speeding up the approvals process for 'nation-building' projects. Of course the bill begs the question of just what kind of a nation we want to build, or more fundamentally, what kind of a nation we already have. Adopting a national flag, repatriating the constitution, these were nation-building projects, neither of which were capital projects. Bill C-5 is more about capital development. Perhaps the rollout of these 'nation-builders' will revive serious public dialogue about what we are and what we aspire to be. Major undertakings in Canada have to navigate processes that are often five years or more in length. At a time when we will have to construct a coast to coast web of electrical transmission, substantially increase our renewable energy capacity and restructure our economy to counter the U.S. economic onslaught, this is not acceptable. One brake has been government — federal and provincial — that has often been unable produce timely and credible analyses of development proposals. This is partly as a result of a bipartisan failure to allocate sufficient resources to their own environmental institutions, and an institutional mindset that all development is good. Proponents regularly bellyache about 'red tape' but often produce incomplete or scientifically deficient assessments of their own projects, resulting in time consuming do-overs. Most major projects involve both federal and provincial governments. Duplication and overlap is inevitable. In addition, the federal environmental assessment process has been used as a lever to require, as part of federal sign-off, approval of factors that lie outside Ottawa's jurisdiction. And then there's consultation. Governments have not imposed discipline on this aspect of project approvals and this can result in a process lacking temporal and financial boundaries. This is not to say this is bad (or good), but simply that consultation is one of the factors contributing to the length of process that Ottawa wants to accelerate. So, does Bill C-5 address the previous process friction sufficiently to ensure major project reviews conclude in two years? That depends. Assuming that the objective is to still produce quality project assessments, just faster, then If Ottawa and the provinces are prepared to adequately fund their review infrastructure; if governments are able to harmonize their review processes; if proponents are given clear objectives their own project analysis must meet, and the consequences of failing to meet them; and if governments are prepared to define when consultation is considered complete — then perhaps speed up can be achieved. Nothing in the legislation, however, guarantees this result. Continuing his lurch to the right, the PM has initiated a search for 'unnecessary' regulations that prevent or hamper good things from happening. You may remember our late, lamented provincial government set about this quest with great fanfare. The result? Absolutely nothing. Regulations pass through a rigorous enough process to ensure that, at least at the time, their benefits exceeded their cost. Of course, some regulations no longer serve the public interest as the conditions that spawned them have changed. A periodic review to ensure that we weed out such anachronisms makes sense and in fact does routinely occur. Regulatory reviews — and there have been many over the years — tend to focus on possible negative effects on business. Let's hope the PM — an ultimate high finance insider — does not lighten the 'burden' of business regulation at the expense of the public welfare. 'Approving development projects takes way too long, red tape is hamstringing business and it's harming our economy.' Sound familiar? This was the refrain of the Harper government and Conservative governments across the country. Now, perhaps the PM's current initiatives are more pragmatic and not ideology driven, simply a necessity in the face of a dire threat. We rejected Pierre Polievre; let's hope we didn't get him anyway. Norman Brandson is the former deputy minister of the Manitoba departments of environment, conservation and water stewardship.
Hindustan Times
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
What is Canada's new citizenship bill C-3? And how will it impact Indians? Explained
As Canada works to solve its immigration issues, the Mark Carney-led government have introduced a new bill which will bring in a limit on citizenship provided by descent. The citizenship amendment - C-3 - announced on Thursday, will effectively restore citizenship to lost Canadians. Introduced by Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab, the C-3 will be focus on fixing "injustices" against Canadian-born citizens outside of Canada. As per the Canadian government, ill C-3 will - The current rules state that if a Canadian citizen was born outside of Canada, they will not be pass on their citizenship to their child born abroad. Furthermore, this rule, introduced in 2009, restricted citizenship via descent only to first generation born Canadians. "The current first-generation limit to citizenship no longer reflects how Canadian families live today—here at home and around the world—and the values that define our country," said Immigration minister Diab while introducing the new C-3 bill. This amendment to the citizenship bill also comes after the Ontario Superior Court of Justice deemed the existing version of the rule "unconstitutional" in December 2023. This bill is expected to benefit the Indian diaspora and other immigrants in Canada as the C-3 bill will "allow a Canadian parent born abroad who has a substantial connection to Canada to pass on citizenship to their child born abroad beyond the first generation." "It would also provide them with access to the direct grant of citizenship for their child adopted abroad beyond the first generation," IRCC added further. Which means, a persons born in India to Canadian citizens or ancestors will now be eligible for Canadian citizenship based on the C-3 bill. This bill also comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has ended birthright citizenship, impacting several immigrants in the United States. The C-3 bill is currently under legislative review and needed to be passed by both houses of Parliament to become a law. "If the bill passes both Houses of Parliament and receives Royal Assent, we will work as quickly as possible to bring the changes into effect," said IRCC in its official statement. In the Canadian parliament, a bill must pass three readings before the two Houses cast their vote. After the houses cast their votes, the bill is then passed to the Governor General for Royal Assent.
