New homes are constructed in Ottawa on Aug. 14, 2023.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Housing action now
A series of op-eds and articles over the past weeks (including “Federal government could spur rental construction with tax incentives, financing: experts” – Aug. 18) have heightened attention on the housing affordability crisis, immediately ahead of a federal cabinet retreat this week that will examine the issue.
A crisis demands immediate action. Much of the discussion emphasizes increasing supply both over all and, more specifically, non-market affordable. That’s good policy, but will have no effect for three to four years. A faster, more politically effective solution is to significantly expand the Canada Housing Benefit to help high-rent-stressed households pay the rent next month – and in subsequent months, while expanded supply ramps up.
Steve Pomeroy Industry professor, McMaster University, Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative; Ottawa
Let’s change our NIMBY mentality and permit year-round trailer parks to be built. These homes are factory-built and can be rolled into place on dense, serviced lots for about $150,000.
It should only take six months to complete a 100- to 200-home park and these can be resurrected everywhere. So many families need a home and not some big high-rise.
These units can have one, two or three bedrooms, and their own deck and driveway. They are reasonably energy-effective and come at an affordable price point.
We could permit them for the next 10 or 15 years until our housing crisis is resolved, then relicense successful parks and shut down and relocate unsuccessful parks.
Let’s do something to break the logjam of greedy developers, land barons and rising interest-rate stagflation.
Dave Farquharson Whitby, Ont.
Domino effect
Re “Want to ease Canada’s housing crisis? Let’s start by being responsible about international student visas” (Aug. 18): Given that universities and colleges have turned to international students to redress funding shortfalls from provincial governments, issuing fewer student visas would drive many institutions into bankruptcy.
Simply reducing their number is not the simple panacea it might seem.
Geoff Read Provost and dean, arts and social science, Huron University College; London, Ont.
A to B
Re “Canada’s economic future is in jeopardy because we lack an entrepreneurial culture” (Report on Business, Aug. 15): Canada has no shortage of entrepreneurs. What has changed is the typical entrepreneurial path.
In the past, an entrepreneur would start a company and spend a lifetime growing it. Today, many will build a company to the point where a foreign multinational takes notice, sell out for a fortune and live happily ever after.
Jim Paulin Ottawa
Re “Devotees of entrepreneurialism” (Editorial cartoon, Aug. 17): I co-owned half of a printing company for 35 years. We sold it in May, 2018. I believe our banking system has failed small businesses in spades.
Our greatest problem was finding capital. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, our banks lend just 12 per cent of their portfolios to small- and medium-sized firms. The OECD average is 44 per cent (”Why entrepreneurship in Canada has gotten so hard” – July 1).
There should be a quid pro quo: Our banks should be legislated to meet a loan percentage of at least double the present rate. Perhaps having the federal government guarantee some portion would grease the skids.
Michael O’Connell Burlington, Ont.
Bigger picture
Re “Small recruiting firms push back on new Ontario licensing aimed at temp agencies” (Report on Business, Aug. 15): The licensing regime that comes into effect on Jan. 1 should not be seen as “red tape,” as some recruiters suggest, but a badly needed corrective to an industry rife with systemic problems.
I see it as the government wisely taking a broad approach, encompassing all recruiters and temp agencies. This eliminates loopholes and helps catch recruiters who may be luring migrant workers to Canada on false pretenses and charging illegal fees, but not paying workers directly.
Many temp agencies and recruiters operate with little capital costs; they can easily shut down and pop up under another name, making it hard to push bad actors out of the industry. The new rules give workers greater ability to recoup stolen wages and illegal fees.
If some employers are shying away from that, to me it says something.
Ella Bedard Workers’ Action Centre; Toronto
First steps
Re “Intimate partner violence an ‘epidemic,’ federal government says in response to coroner’s inquest” (Aug. 17): One act of intimate partner violence, often gender-based, is one too many. The federal government’s response to the first recommendation of the inquest jury is welcome news.
The national strategy for the prevention of intimate partner violence is a first step in addressing these egregious acts of violence, whether physical, verbal or coercive control. Naming the issue and its impact on victims, families and communities cannot be underestimated.
Recognition and concerted efforts across our country give us opportunities to really make a difference toward ending intimate partner violence.
Marianne Wilkinson President, National Council of Women of Canada; Ottawa
Near-nuclear
Re “‘Putinheimer’ and the spectre of nuclear war” (Aug. 17): We should praise director Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer for “waking up global society to the risks inherent in nuclear weaponry,” but I believe much more is needed than just a wake-up call.
The model for our time should not be J. Robert Oppenheimer but Joseph Rotblat, a distinguished physicist who, unlike other members of Oppenheimer’s team, quit when informed in 1944 that the real purpose of the bomb was to subdue Russia, not Germany or Japan. He went on to devote his life to the cause of peace, founding the Pugwash Conferences and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995.
Canadians can learn more about right attitudes to the bomb, and in half the time, by watching Eric Bednarski’s excellent 2008 documentary The Strangest Dream. It’s online and free through the National Film Board.
Randal Marlin Ottawa
In a Barbie world
Re “Barbie is back in my home and she’s not what I remembered” (First Person, Aug. 17): No denying that Barbie is a complicated figure. However, the motivations of her creator are pretty clear, as I wound up learning at, of all places, synagogue.
Ruth Handler decided that Barbie should give girls evidence they could do and be anything after reaching adulthood. No wonder she wasn’t necessarily seen as having specific aspirations or jobs, right? Leave that to the children who interact with her.
Complicated as Barbie is, I’m beyond grateful my rabbi helped me learn a fascinating lesson.
Amy Soule Hamilton
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