A group of residential construction industry associations has proposed a series of measures it says the Ontario Jobs and Recovery Committee can take to help kick-start the Canadian economy post COVID-19.

In their 20-point plan submitted to Ontario Finance Minister and committee chair Rod Phillips, the Canadian and Ontario Home Builders’ Associations (CHBA and OHBA) and the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) specifically target measures that can be taken to bolster the economy in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Doing so, they say, will help drive economic growth throughout Ontario and across the country.

Figures presented in the groups’ report, Construction to Kick Start Ontario’s Economy - Proposed Liquidity and Recovery Measures, suggest that the GTA generates more than 20 percent of Canada’s GDP and more than 50 percent of Ontario’s GDP. A GTA-focused strategy that also takes into account the role played by construction, they say, will have a proportionally beneficial impact in supporting the overall economy.

“Our industry is well-positioned to play a significant role in the recovery of the GTA, Ontario and Canada,” said BILD president and CEO David Wilkes. “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 GTA. The report shows that in 2019, construction employed more than 361,000 people in the region, paid more than $22 billion in wages and generated $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 OHBA CEO Joe Vaccaro. “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.”

Recommendations provided in the report target initiatives that can be taken by the federal, provincial and municipal governments to increase liquidity in the construction sector, and restore consumer confidence. Among them are such recommendations as:

• removing the GST on the purchase of new homes in 2020 and 2021,
• introducing a home renovation tax credit for both years,
• removing the GST from the construction costs of new rental housing construction and rental renovations,
• accelerating construction on key infrastructure projects such as the GTA West Corridor, LINK427 and the Upper York Water Reclamation Centre,
• introducing a refundable tax credit for expenses relating to upgrading or repurposing buildings or facilities because of COVID-19,
• removing the provincial sales tax on the purchase of new homes,
• providing relief from development charges and other related fees, and
• enhancing municipalities’ abilities to deliver construction-related services through technology.

“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.”

Many of the report’s proposed measures can be enacted at little or no cost to governments, and will have significant economic-generating effects to consumers and industry.