Toronto, June 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian and Ontario Home Builders’ Associations (CHBA and OHBA) and the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) have submitted a 20-point plan to the Ontario Jobs and Recovery Committee to help kick-start the Canadian economy post COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Canada, Ontario, and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Millions of people lost their jobs and the economy has all but ground to a halt. As governments at all levels start to look at recovery, they will need to focus on the GTA. The region is the engine of Canada’s economy, accounting for 20 per cent of Canada’s GDP and 50 per cent of Ontario’s GDP.
“Our industry is well-positioned to play a significant role in the recovery of the GTA, Ontario, and Canada,” said David Wilkes, President & CEO, BILD. “Working with our colleagues at the Ontario and Canadian Home Builders’ Associations, we have put together a roadmap for simple changes that will have a great impact to the economy.”
The residential and commercial building and development industry, and the professional renovations industry, are major contributors to economic activity in the region. Collectively, they employ more than 360,000 people in the GTA, paying $22 billion in wages and generating $42 billion in investment value annually.
“With all levels of government facing financial challenges and funding requests, we are providing ideas that will unlock consumer and industry construction investments that will kick-start the economy,” said Joe Vaccaro, CEO, OHBA. “The Ontario Jobs and Recovery Committee demonstrates the important leadership that the Ontario government has provided during this COVID-19 State of Emergency. As the industry continues to enhance health and safety on jobsites, we are now making recommendations that will support economic development with more housing choice and employment opportunities that will support consumers and businesses during the recovery program.”
Proposed measures include transferring mortgage tenancy to the date of occupancy for new condominiums, eliminating security deposits for Ontario Land Transfer Tax on affiliated transfers and freezing municipal increases to Property Tax Reassessment and development charges.
Another proposed recommendation is to free up monies that would otherwise be stuck in such things as municipal agreements (refundable deposits paid by developers) and replace them with surety bonds, freeing up billions in potential investments that otherwise would have been parked.
“To help stimulate economic growth and keep Canadians properly housed, we will need to foster housing supply while also ensuring demand-side measures are adjusted to reflect the times,” said Kevin Lee, CEO, CHBA. “Accordingly, we recommend 30-year amortizations for insured mortgages, and adjusting the mortgage stress test for both insured and uninsured mortgages. Removing the GST on new homes purchased for 2020 and 2021 would also be a timely catalyst for new home construction.”
Stimulus measures are needed to generate jobs that were lost while maintaining current tax revenue. To foster job creation, we propose incentives for a Home Renovation Tax Credit for people making upgrades to their homes and a refundable Tax Credit for expenses to upgrade buildings in Ontario and for repurposing facilities in Ontario because of COVID-19. These initiatives would be self-funding by freezing out the cash operators in the renovation industry.
Read the full report at www.bildgta.ca and support us as we work toward recovery in the GTA, Ontario and Canada through residential and commercial construction and professional renovation.
Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA)
Since 1943, the Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA) has been “the voice of Canada's residential construction industry.” Representing one of the largest industry sectors in Canada, our membership is made up of some 9,000 companies – including home builders, renovators, land developers, trade contractors, product and material manufacturers, building product suppliers, lending institutions, insurance providers, and service professionals.
Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA)
The Ontario Home Builders’ Association is the voice of the residential construction industry in Ontario, representing 4,000 member companies organized into 27 local associations across the province. The residential construction industry contributes over $51 billion dollars to Ontario’s economy, employing more than 330,000 people across the province.
Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD)
With 1,500 member companies, BILD is the voice of the home building, land development and professional renovation industry in the Greater Toronto Area. The building and renovation industry provides $34 billion in investment value and employs 270,000 people in the region. BILD is proudly affiliated with the Ontario and Canadian Home Builders' Associations.
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For additional information or to schedule an interview, contact John Provenzano, BILD Communications and Media Relations Manager, at JProvenzano@bildgta.ca, (416) 617-7994.
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