Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke virtually to delgates at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference on Friday in Regina. and one of his topics was the national housing crisis. He highlighted a few of the federal government’s actions including helping Canadians save to buy a home with a $40,000 interest-free first home buyers account, curbing speculation by cracking down on predatory practices, and increasing supply.

The Prime Minister was asked about his vision for investing in local climate-resilient infrastructure, and how the federal government can work with municipalities on reducing climate change risks. Trudeau answered that climate change has already cost billions of dollars and too many lives. He said, “Obviously municipalities can’t be the only ones trying to build for the future, because your resource base is limited. Partners from the provincial and federal level need to be there. We also have to talk not just about adaptation and mitigation, but about recovery as well.” The Prime Minister gave the example of rebuilding after these disastrous events like storms, floods and fires, and making sure to build better, planning for climate change mitigation.

Trudeau notes that working with municipalities is the best way to get things done, but every time the provincial governments are left out, they are left a bit off the hook.
He suggests it’s better to ensure the province is there to match federal funding, because then communities will have twice as much money for whatever projects they are working on. (with files from CKRM)